Bond or Free
by TigerFlower
Summary: Based on the Twilight Princess look. Link is captured and enslaved by a harsh group of people, but some things aren't as bad as they seem. Possible slight Fire Emblem crossover later on. Just R&R to find out how all this goes down.
1. Chapter 1

A bright full moon shone down through the thin clouds from the black sky, casting a soft light through the treetops and somewhat illuminating everything down to the forest floor. The thin creek that snaked between the trees flowed and gurgled pleasantly. A light summer breeze rustled the branches and leaves, swaying them back and forth with only the slightest of noise. The surroundings were still, save for a large dark figure against a tree, a brown horse lifting its head and pricking its ears to listen for any signs of danger, and when finding none in the silence, returned to its quiet grazing on the thick grass below.

The horse wasn't alone in the peaceful forest. Another figure sat on the bank of the creek, silhouetted against the full moon behind. Motionless at first, the figure finally stood silently. Clad in a dark green tunic over tight tan-colored pants, leather arm guards extending from the back of the hand to the elbow, and knee-high leather boots to match, the clean-shaven-faced figure removed a hat and sighed to himself. His thick and shaggy, though well kept and always split at the side, blond hair blew in the breeze as he turned to take a glance at his horse behind him.

No one knew how old he was, but everyone he met always agreed on a guess of about late teens. It wasn't as if he told anyone; he was too much of a loner for that. Though some people didn't recognize him on sight, and some even going so far as the fear him, he was commonly known as Link, the former wrangler from Hyrule. He traveled a lot, and a lot of people wondered where his destination was, if he had one. He seemed to be constantly moving for a purpose, but he had never stopped long enough to make friends and tell anyone why.

If they had heard about him, Link didn't know how someone couldn't recognize him at first glance. His strange clothes, deep blue eyes, pointed ears, and the fact that he was left-handed were distinct characteristics as well as dead giveaways. Most people in these parts weren't quite used to seeing someone from Hyrule, and that was one of the reasons he liked to travel by night in the woods. There was no telling how a person would react to him.

He was so close to being an expert on the forest as a person can come without being one, but he was a true horseman. Horses, aside from sword-fighting, was the only thing he seemed to be good at, and the profession had earned him a living more than once. It was not unusual for him to make a quick bond with a horse, but his mare Epona in particular had been with him for a long time now. He remembered her back in his home village, when he was no more than six years of age, and even then their bond had been strong.

Now Link reached for his sword and shield that had been leaning against a tree, and strapped them back to their rightful places on his back. The sword's sheath was heavy enough by itself, but the sword was nearly three times that weight and weighed him down from behind, but he was in the physical shape to carry it as he always did. Nearly his whole life had consisted of hard manual labor, and it would pay off in the long run.

Epona whinnied softly from her spot by the tree she was tied to. Link turned to move towards her, both of them ready to get back on the trail, but something caught his attentive ears and thus stopped him in mid-move. A far off noise of weeds rustling and sticks crunching, and Link stiffened in alarm. No one could ever be sure what they could face in deep forest, so he retrieved his sword from the sheath behind his head with his left hand, and rose to his full height and listened.

Epona seemed to be listening as well. She turned her head in the direction of the noise, whuffled slightly, and pointed her ears up in alarm. And after a few moments of silence, Link began to wonder if he had merely imagined the noise. But he refused to let his guard down; wild animals were thick in these type of woods, vicious mountain cats in particular.

Link's heart beat faster, but he was prepared to fight if anything came his way, without fear as he always did. He had learned in his first days of training with the sword that fear would amount to nothing but hurt or death, and a fighter must think with his head to survive.

Link held his breath and listened intently. The breeze was the only thing he could hear at the moment, except for Epona's small movements. And in the sudden blink of an eye, a whistling sounded through the air, and something whizzed by Link's head and embedded into a tree close by. He whirled quickly, just long enough to see what had almost hit him, and saw an arrow stuck in the tree. Suspecting he was being shot at, he made a grab for his shield with his right hand, and then something clasped his wrist and he was tackled from behind.

As he was knocked face first into the dirt, Link felt like a fool for not being sure of all his surroundings. In the split second that he had to think on his mistake, he figured that whatever was attacking him had worked with a partner, distracting him from in front and making its move from behind. How clever.

Another thing Link had learned was that no matter how far or how hard the fall, never drop your sword. And he hadn't. He twisted his wrist from the grip of the thing on his back, and reached backwards and grabbed whatever he could get first. Strangely, it felt like cloth. Working up every muscle in his arm, he gained enough momentum on the figure and threw them forward, freeing himself and leaping to his feet in a matter of seconds.

His attacker landed hard on the ground a few feet away, and Link was dumbfounded for a moment. He had not expected a person, but here was a young man weilding a long dagger and looking as if he knew how to use it. Link didn't have time to think about it though, for suddenly he was surrounded by a small army of about a dozen men, and they were not hesitating to attack him. Link brought up both arms and protected his face from the mighty blows that were raining down on him, and though unsure about why he was being attacked, his next instinct was to fight back, and that he did.

He threw a right-handed punch that landed square in the face of one the men, sending him blind and reeling backwards in the creek. One down, but there were eleven more to go. Link dodged an attempted tackle from the side, then one from the back, but there was no way he could be fast enough to dodge and evade for long. These men must be plain fools. They seemed not to have noticed the fact that he was weilding a three-and-a-half-foot sword in his left hand, and Link decided that it was time to use it. He was not one for murder at all, but it was all a different story when it came down to self defense.

One man succeeded with the aim of his tackle, but took a moment of surprise when Link did not go down. The latter took advantage of this pause and kicked the man in the stomach with all the strength he could muster. There was a slight break in the brawl for a moment, and movement beside Epona caught Link's eye. They were untying her, stealing her! A flame of anger flared up in Link, and he took off at a run through the army of men to protect his horse. Five of the men who had dared stand in his way met their unfortunate ends at the blade of Link's sword and went down where they stood. Link had always had a protective side to him; whether over people, possessions, or animals, it still burned strong in him. And this horse that he had taken so much time to bond with... he refused to see her be stolen by a pack of lowlife thieves.

Just as the two men by the horse were about to meet the same fate as did a few of their comrades, Link was hit from the right side by someone's shoulder and went down a little too hard in the dirt, landing painfully on his shoulder, letting out a grunt along with the breath that was knocked out of him, and unfortunately losing grip on his sword. It skidded across the ground and came to a rest in the creek.

"He's down!" one of the men cried out, and at least three men jumped on Link and wrestled his arms behind his back after quickly removing the shield.

"Bind him tight," another voice said. "We can't afford to lose grip on him."

Link felt knees digging hard into his back, and he struggled under the force of the men, but face-first on the ground was not a good position to fight back. A hand gripped the back of his neck and pushed his face farther into the dirt, and Link fought back silently, but in vain.

Chains as well as ropes were used to bind Link's wrists together, and after that was done, someone practically stood on his back to hold him down while his ankles were tied as well. Link felt an unnecessary kick in the ribs, and struggled to catch his breath again. There was still a lot of fight left in him, but with no way to move freely, it was pointless. He was bruised, bleeding, and as much as he hated to admit it, at the mercy of his attackers.

"Master Dorobis will be pleased," a young man with a British accent said. Link was hauled to his feet and violently turned to face the voice, which belonged to a tall man of about twenty, who had dark hair and a small beard. The taunting smirk on the face was enough to send Link into a rage. "Pleased indeed."

A panting man with red hair spoke up. "What shall we do now, Henry?"

The bearded young man, apparently Henry, lifted his chin in a jeering way. "Take him back home, of course." He looked over his shoulder at the men who held the fidgeting Epona. "Keep the horse. It'll serve a good purpose for Dorobis." Link's expression must have shown his angry protests, for Henry turned suddenly and punched Link in the stomach without mercy, then whispered as his captive was doubled over, "You'd better learn to shape up fast. You face Dorobis' scourge and I swear you won't be so haughty."

**-O-**

The journey back 'home', as Henry had referred to their destination, was a long and hard one for Link. He was bound wrist and ankle, being dragged from in front, pushed from behind. His ankles were not tied as tightly as his wrists, so he could walk enough to manage, though it was far from comfortable. Henry and another, older looking man, were the only two that were on horseback, and Link had been unfortunate enough to be tied at the wrists to Henry's saddle, and keeping up was almost as easy as an impossible task such as breathing underwater.

Link was led, or more honestly dragged, through the woods the rest of the night, Epona being led along at the back of the crowd of men,and Link finally came to a relieved stop along with Henry's horse at the first sight of daylight.

"Should we warn Dorobis of what we're bringing?" one man suggested.

"No," Henry replied. "He likes surprises, doesn't he?" He twisted in the saddle to turn and look at Link, who glared back. "Untie him," he said to the red-haired man, who obeyed cautiously, keeping his eyes on Link the whole time he released the boy. Henry said to Link, "Come, you."

Link did not move; he merely glared into Henry's eyes. A blow in the small of his back got him moving unwillingly. He had been abused the whole time he had been with his captives, and he had never felt so bruised in his life. But he had never really been one to vocally show pain, and he wasn't about to start now.

"Don't you speak English?" Henry barked accusingly.

"Perhaps he does not," the red-haired man said. "He looks Hylian."

Link thought about acting as if he did not understand, but thought better of it when he knew that he would just be beaten until he was forced to learn. He had felt like a total fool ever since he had been captured, and silently yelled at himself for being careless and not fighting back hard enough. If he could have kept his footing, if he could have just held on to his sword... but there was no use punishing himself for it now, it was too late. He just wouldn't let himself make the same mistake again. And as soon as he saw an opening to escape, he was gone- and all of the men knew it.

"Take him ahead to Dorobis; I'll be along after," Henry said.

As a few men grabbed Link by the arms, he just noticed a clearing ahead in the woods, and figured that he had reached his destination. And he was unsure if that was good or bad.

Once in the clearing, Link saw what looked like a stable to the left, a creek to the right, and a house made of wood up ahead. One of the men went to the door of the house and knocked loudly. A few seconds later, an older woman opened the door and looked up at the man; then her gaze went past him and fell on Link. She nodded and then closed the door.

Link's arms were aching from the pressure from the men's hands, and it hurt to move. Not like he could move anyway. Anything he did was punished with a punch, slap, or kick. Heart beating wildly at the uncertain fate, Link glanced around his surroundings. In any other situation he would have thought it was beautiful, but at the moment he didn't know what to think. These people could behead him for all he knew- torture him, Roman candle him, or worse. But Link refused to show fear or weakness, no matter what he felt. He had faced danager and death before, yet he was lucky enough to be here still.

A man came from the house and slammed the door shut behind him, and he looked around with a sharp look of authority. His gaze went past Link, and with his hands clasped behind his back, came forward to meet his men and what they had brought.

"Why did you bring him, Minhan?" the man said flatly.

One man stepped forward and bowed slightly at the sound of his name. "Sir Henry requested it after we laid eyes on the boy. We went through a great deal to bring him to you, Master Dorobis. I hope you are pleased."

Dorobis blantantly ignored Link and scanned his men. "I sent twelve of you out to hunt buck. I see only six now."

"Henry is on his way. The rest of the men... they are gone."

"Gone?"

"Their bodies lay back in the forest, sir," Minhan said with venom, glaring at Link.

"He killed them," Dorobis said, more telling than asking, and for the first time laid his eyes on Link. "I cannot lose my men to such a... boy." The words were meant to be insulting, but Link detected a note of admiration in the man's voice, and he looked away.

Dorobis continued to stare at Link. "Does he have a name?"

"We do not know," Minhan replied respectfully. "He has not uttered a word since we found him, not even in his own language."

"Well, I suppose I don't need him to talk, just to work. Follow after me." Dorobis headed slowly down the trail, and the men wrestled Link along after.

Two large trees of the same kind, height, and nearly an arm's span apart stood ominously at the left side of the trail, out of sight of the house, and Link immediately resisted when he saw what was in store for him. A wrist shackle on each tree made it clear what this spot was intended for, and in a metal barrel off to the side lay a burning hot brand. The men must have felt Link tense up, for they once again got rough with him and threw him mercilessly to the ground, and Link nearly choked at what he saw had just come up the trail.

It was nothing bad; far from it and quite the opposite, in fact. At first Link just saw the bottom of light colored skirts, and then his gaze traveled upward and met beauty as he had never imagined it. The girl standing in front of him was maybe a couple of years younger than himself, but the prettiness of her entire being took his breath away. Her face was heart-shaped and her hair was black, her eyes a dark brown; but that was just the basics of her beauty. Link couldn't think of any words to describe this girl, and he would have been less surprised if an angel had come down and stood in front of him. But that was what the girl might as well have been, for she was far prettier than any angel Link had ever imagined. Surely she wasn't just a servant girl.

The both of them were frozen in motion and seemed to be frozen in time as well. Their eyes met at the perfect moment, and suddenly Link felt ashamed. Bruised, dirty, and on his knees at the mercy of his captors, he wished he could dust himself off and give the girl a proper greeting. But enough was communicated with their eyes, and there were no words that needed to be said.

"Jennan," Dorobis said, and the girl looked up to meet the man's eyes. "Go in the house. This is nothing you need to be involved with."

Jennan took one last look at Link, who had not stopped staring at her, and continued on her way towards the house, looking over her shoulder until she disappeared around the curve of the trail behind the trees.

At the sight of her, Link had forgotten his current situation and still didn't think about it until he felt another kick in the side and was dragged over to the two trees. Two men on each side of him wrestled his wrists into the shackles and snapped them closed, leaving Link unable to do anything to fight back. And the men who had put him there were wise enough to leave his ankles bound- they all had seen what a fight he had put up back in the forest and knew that it would be no different here if he got the chance.

"Leave him there and come with me into my quarters," Dorobis said. "I want to speak to you about the loss of my men."

All of the men followed, and only one was slow to move. He stood glaring at Link for a few seconds before turning and following the rest of them.

Once alone, Link tried to relax and calm himself down, but he didn't know what was in store for him and didn't know how to react, besides fight. That was currently not an option, and for now there was nothing else to do but submit and wait for the right time to make his escape move.

He examined the shackles that held his wrists on each tree and strained hard in an attempt to somehow break free, but the steel held fast and the trees didn't even sway. He pushed all of his weight forward and braced himself against the ground, but the effort did nothing but hurt his aching muscles.

Link was tired and thirsty, but he refused to merely give in to any harsh treatment and ill intentions, and fight flared up in him again. He examined the contraption he was in once more, and came to the conclusion that even these two trees were planted at arm's span for a purpose; this was the spot for a slave to receive a whipping from a master.

If these people were trying to make him a slave, they would spend most of their time whipping him than working him. Link had once been called foolish for being so stubborn and headstrong, but he had been commended by someone important in his life as well. And besides, it was just a part of him that no whip or man could remove. He was tough, to put it at a minimum, and he was prepared to give his captors a very hard time if they tried to take their temporary authority to another level.

Link suddenly wondered what had happened to Epona, and he didn't know what he would do if anyone had harmed her. Not to say that Link was constantly in a fighting rage; none of these people had gotten to see the gentle side of him, and for good reason. Anyone with such tyranny in them could only expect a negative response from the one the harshness was directed at.

Link felt the vibration of hoofbeats in the ground before he heard them, and then a horse and rider came up the trail at a canter a few minutes later. He bristled when he saw who the rider was, and Henry reined his white stallion to a stop in the middle of the trail.

After a moment of exchanged glares, Henry dismounted and stroked his beard lightly, a smirk on his face. "I see you're no match to Dorobis' men without your weapons," he said, laughing sarcastically.

Link did not take his off of the young man as the latter slowly made his way over to the metal barrel and looked in. Link's fists clenched involuntarily as Henry reached in and retrieved the searing hot brand, his hands protected from the heat by thick leather gloves.

Henry examined the glowing red end of the brand, as if poking fun at Link with a silent laugh. Seemingly satisfied with what he saw, Henry turned and started his way over to Link with a smile on his face that showed he was going to enjoy what he was about to do.

"Come near me with that, and you'll be wishing you had a lot of help," Link warned gruffly.

Henry stopped in mid-step, either taken aback with Link's words, or just the fact that he had spoken in general. Link didn't know, but he was ready to defend himself if he had to fight like a wildcat. He had seen slaves branded in the past, and his heart had went out to them when they cried out in pain. He could only imagine what it felt like. And if there was one thing Link was not, it was a fool.

In this case, Henry was not a fool either. This pretty boy in front of him, though shackled helplessly between two trees, still somehow managed to intimidate with his words. Henry had seen five men go down under the boy's sword, and he was sure the blond Hylian's threat would be backed up in actions. The boy could probably do enough damage without a weapon, even tied and shackled. His expression, etched into a hard glare,was threatening in itself.

Not knowing what else to do, Henry said, "So you _do_ speak English."

Link was silent again. He wouldn't have replied to that with the obvious answer even if he was speaking to this man.

Henry opened his mouth to speak, but a hard wind suddenly blew through and cut off his words. Link took the warm gust to his face,but he still did not take his glare off of Henry. His eyes alone told that he would not take the brand from anyone else either, and whoever came next to attempt the task would face the same threat Henry had and perhaps more.

"I do say, if you do not accept your place soon, Dorobis will whip you blind," Henry said, attempting to cover up his inability to put the brand to Link. Though he would never admit it, he was not brave enough. "I do not have time for such foolishness, and I have other things I need to tend to." Henry dropped the brand back into the metal barrel, turned his nose up at Link, and led his horse down the trail and into the stable.

Link relaxed his body in relief, and rested his weight on the shackles at his wrists. He looked down at the chains on his ankles and worked to get them off. Without the use of his hands, it was a harder thing than it had seemed, but he was determined to free himself at least somewhat, even if it was just in a small way. And after a little while of working at it, the chains released and draped over his boots, and he kicked them off and stretched his stiff legs painfully. He felt relieved to be finally alone, but time dragged on slowly until the sun set behind the trees, twilight came, and then the moon shone high in the sky. He was so numb that he couldn't feel much from the waist down, and his arms had lost feeling hours ago. He hadn't seen a living soul since Henry had left earlier in the day,and by the looks of the moon it seemed to be well past midnight now. Thirst was coming on strong, for the nourishing drink from the creek he had had the night before had long since worn off.

He stretched his neck and felt a small crack, and was surprised he could feel anything at all. He tried again to somehow muscle his way out of the shackles, but it was useless if he couldn't feel and therefore control his body properly. And without anything else to do, Link found himself daydreaming and remembering things froma few years past that were not so bad to remember.

**-O-**

Princess Zelda entwined her fingers with Link's and dangled her legs over the cold ledge of the window, Link doing the same beside her and keeping her steady with a gentle hand at the crook of her gloved arm. Zelda's dwelling was dark behind them, but the moon outside in the sky was bright and full, and it illuminated her face with a soft glow that made her even more beautiful. Her long, dirty-blonde hair swayed in the night breeze, and she leaned her head on Link's shoulder, sighing contentedly.

Her white and pink dress cascaded somewhat down the side of the castle wall, and she adjusted her golden tiara with her free hand. She had no fear of sitting on such a high wall, for she trusted Link to not let her fall, and she knew that every ounce of her trust was justifed.

**-O-**

Link must have at least dozed, for he woke up to the morning sun in his eyes and pain all throughout his stiff body. He was confused at where he was for a moment, but it quickly came back to him when he saw the two trees he was bound to, and he let out a small moan of discomfort.

Voices behind him caught his attention, and when he focused and listened, he recognized Henry's accent and Dorobis' deep and commanding voice conversing behind him. Link was cautious of some sort of attack from the back, and he practically contorted himself to look backwards and see what was going on, but no one was attacking him or even near him yet, for that matter. But just as that was confirmed, the two men came around to the front of Link and faced him head on.

"So," Dorobis began, looking Link square in the eye. "Have you had enough punishment yet? I imagine that you'll get your mind soon enough, and realize that it's not worth fighting us." When he was answered by silence, he spread his hands and grinned with a fake smile. "Oh come now, I know you understand me. It's not as if you don't speak English, you know."

Link was still tired and wanted to sleep, but he was afraid he would receive some sort of pain if he closed his eyes, so he kept a sharp eye on both the men at one time.

"We both must come to an understanding now, boy," Dorobis said. Link noticed for the first time the horse whip in the man's belt. "At the expense of my men, I must make it known that you should not consider yourself a free man from now on. To make it plain, you belong to me now."

Ah, he had thought so. Those were the words Link had only been waiting for. The fatigue of his body did not stop the anger within him. He continued to glare at the man and still refused to speak.

"Am I understood?" Dorobis demanded. Henry made a move toward Link, but the older man reached out and stopped him. "Don't be stubborn. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

Link took in a silent breath, paused, and then spit hard in the man's face. Henry cried out in anger and made another move at Link, but Dorobis stopped him once again and dried off his face.

"Henry, he must learn from his master," the man said. He reached forward and practically tore off Link's tunic and the shirt underneath in one motion, threw them to the ground, and pulled the whip from his belt with a look of vengeance on his face. Henry backed up and smirked, knowing that Dorobis was an expert with the whip and never failed to show it when the moment called for it.

Link received his first whipping that day, ten cuts across the back of hisshoulders, and the blood that ran down his back was visual proof. He had taken the beating in silence, but it felt as if his back was nearly on fire. He had experienced harsh pain before, but this had a different edge to it. And as Henry unshackled him from the tree, the burning pain mixed with his weakened body. Link found himself feeling faint, and after a moment of swooning, passed out in the dirt.


	2. Chapter 2

**I just want to point out that in the last chapter, a lot of words got smashed together after the upload, and I just want to let everyone know that I'm not that clumsy with the keyboard, lol, but I think I fixed it. And if anyone is wondering, this story is based somewhere around in the early 1500's. Anyway, continuing on now.**

**-O-**

Link awoke groggily to a sharp pain in his back. He was still so tired, but he opened his eyes in refusal to fall asleep again, and discovered that he was lying on his stomach with his arms folded over one another in front of him and his head resting on them. His arm guards had been removed. He was confused; he didn't think he had ever slept in this position in his life. He moved slightly in an attempt to get up, but the pain that shot through his body quickly drove him back to stillness, and he let out a long breath but no vocal sound.

He was alarmed when he suddenly felt two hands on his shirtless back, and he would have rose up quickly and delivered a sharp punch if they hadn't felt feminine. He couldn't see around him, but he sensed more than one person in the room. Unwilling to accept anymore bodily harm, he rolled over hastily and held himself up with his hand, one leg tucked under him in a position to make a quick spring if he had to, but he froze still when he saw where he was and who was with him.

The room was dark, lit only by a single glass lantern, but it looked like a bedroom and Link was on the bed. The older woman with silver hair he had seen the day before was sitting on the bed beside him, her hands wet, and the beautiful young girl with the name of Jennan stood on the floor with a bowl of water in her hands, and she stepped back uncertainly when Link turned over to face them.

"You don't need to be alarmed," the old woman said gently. "You passed out from exhaustion after your whipping, and we are just here to help you."

They did not seem to know that Link would not harm a woman, for the two of them remained motionless and stiff, ready to move out of danger if they had to. After thinking on what to do next, Link relaxed to reassure them that he wasn't going to hurt either of them, and they let out their breath in relief.

"I see Dorobis and his men weren't exactly gentle with you," the woman said, looking over his bruises. "I salved the cuts across your shoulders; it will help in the healing process."

Little did she know, Link had always healed quickly and rarely ever scarred, so that worry didn't bother him any. But there were things he wanted to know- such as where Epona was, what had been done with his sword and shield, and where he could find his shirts. Jennan was looking him over from his leather boots to the blue earring in his left ear, and it made him uncomfortable, strangely enough. Girls looking at him was not anything new, but he had never noticed one looking at him with such intensity as this one was.

"My name is Ima," the woman said, "and this here is Dorobis' youngest daughter, Jennan."

So Jennan and the tyrant Dorobis were related. Something about that just seemed wrong to Link, but he just looked at the girl silently. Just because she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen did not mean she could be trusted.

"Have you a name?" Jennan asked gently. Even her voice was pretty.

Link had remained silent for most of the time he had been here, but he saw no reason to disrespect these ladies, so he took a moment to consider telling his name. He swallowed hard on his dry throat, and his voice came out raspy. "Link." He didn't think that she might tell her father, but he didn't care anyway. The man might as well find out some time.

Jennan repeated the name silently on her lips, and Ima poured a glass of water from a pitcher and held it out to him. "You need to drink," she said. So she noticed. Link took the glass and sucked down the water in a matter of seconds, and the coldness hit his dry throat with a stinging shock, but he wanted more. He would have drank from the pitcher if Ima had given it to him.

"You can't drink too much at one time," she said, and she set the empty glass on a wooden table beside the bed. When she leaned over, Link saw the brand mark on her upper arm, and then he knew that she was one of Dorobis' slaves.

After a moment of silence, Jennan put the bowl of water on the table along with the glass, and then she stood back with her wrists crossed and hands clasped in front of her. "Your horse is in my father's stable," she said quietly. As if she had read his thoughts from a few minutes before. "Artos, the stable hand, he will take good care of her."

Link dragged himself up from the bed, and Ima looked as if she wanted to protest, but she didn't. Link saw his clothes on the floor, and he retrieved them wordlessly. As he pulled on the white shirt he always wore under the tunic, Ima lifted a hand and said, "You may not want to... nevermind. " She had started to warn him of the wounds on his back, but figured that telling him wouldn't matter if he was as stubborn as she suspected he was. And she was right.

Link slipped his tunic over his head, which belted around the waist and extended to his thighs, and he was aware of Jennan's gaze taking in his every move. He would have enjoyed the attention if he wasn't so unrustworthy of them, so he pulled on his gloves and arm guards without looking at her. And he was slightly embarrassed because of his wounds and bruises, but he thought that she had probably seen it all before. Dorobis' slaves were probably continuously being tented to.

"If you're headed back out there, I should give you a word of widom," Ima said. She stood up and rose to her full height, which was five feet at the most, and touched his arm. "It's strongly advised not to spit in the master's face, I should have you know. But rest assured, worse things have happened to him from the hands of slaves."

"I won't be his slave," Link said, willing to speak openly for the first time in the presence of these people. "He can whip me blind if he wants, but I can just..." He looked over at Jennan, and out of respect for her did not finish the sentence about her father. He was relieved when the door of the dwelling opened suddenly, and a young man and woman paused in the doorway.

"My brother and sister," Jennan assured Link. She turned to the new arrivals. "It's all right to come in if you like."

They entered the room and let the door fall closed behind them, and the young woman was looking at Link with an obvious expression of distrust. She had brown hair that did not even reach the middle of her back, and light brown eyes that stared at him warily. The boy's features more resembled Jennan's, for he had thick black hair and dark eyes as well, though his face was not as fair colored and was more squarely shaped.

"Matayo and Memnet," Ima said, nodding at the boy first and then the girl. "Memnet, she is the eldest of Dorobis' children, followed by Matayo and then Jennan."

Memnet folded her arms and scoffed. "Why do you introduce us to a slave so formally, Ima?" she said.

Link bristled, and Ima frowned deeply at Memnet. "I advise you to keep your manners, girl. Show some respect."

Ima was their father's slave, but all three of the siblings seemed to look up to her; after all, she was their elder.

"I've never known my father to have a Hylian slave," Matayo said, his deep voice echoing off the dwelling walls as he leaned forward to get a better look at Link.

"Where are you manners!" Ima exclaimed, and she slapped Matayo in the back of the head.

"Sorry," he said quickly. Link had never seen a relationship between a slave and the master's children like this before. He was starting to wonder if Ima even was a slave here.

"Forgive them," Ima said to Link. He nodded once at her and grabbed his sword and shield, with no protest from any of them, and made for the door of the dwelling. He was surprised to find that the door led right to the outside, and when he closed it and looked backwards, discovered that the dwelling had been built onto the side of the house. He figured it was Ima's room, and saw that she would have had to go outside if she had been in the house just to get there.

Link stood on the dusty, grassless space in front of the door, strapping his sword and shield to his back, and looked around the woods. He was unsure at what to do now. It was the first time that he had been physically free since he had arrived at this place, and escape was the first thing that was on his mind. There was no one out here to stop him, but he didn't want to go without Epona. He went right, into the woods, and kept walking until he found the stable he had seen awhile ago before. He wasn't sure what day that had been, but now he just wanted to get out of here and go home. It seemed forever ago that he had been there, and there were things there that he had to tend to. So the quicker he got there the better.

He came upon the stable as he rounded a corner, and he quietly made his way around to the double doors that were open wide in front. He leaned around the corner and looked in slowly, seeing rows of stalls and many horses he didn't recognize, then was relieved to see Epona in a stall near the left end of the stable, her back to him. The structure was wide a roomy, housing many horses and even a loft up above the stalls. A few horses looked at him curiously, and he shrank low to the ground in an effort to keep completely silent. A few moments of quiet passed, and then Link clicked his tongue in a quick rhythm, the signal for Epona he had used for years. Epona turned in her stall to face him, her head hanging over the door, and whuffled in reply.

Link rose to enter the stable, then quickly fell back in position when he heard human footsteps from inside. The sound of the obvious stride gave away that the peron was male, and then a quiet voice emerged from inside. It sounded as if the man was talking to the horses gently. Link was not sure what to do now, but he was determined to get away from this place if he had to fight tooth and nail to get out.

The talking and the shuffling walk suddenly stopped, as if the man was listening intently. Link held his breath and remained motionless, poised to run, but he was too late to move when a young man with dark, close-cut hair came to the doorway and looked directly at him. Link stood quickly and considered knocking the other man out in the dirt, but the latter quickly held up his hands in a sign of peace, and Link stopped.

"Don't worry, there's no reason to fight me," he said quickly, taking a step backwards. "I know what you're here for; you want your horse and you want to get out of here, am I right?" Answered by silence, he continued on hastily. "I'm not going to try to stop you. By the way, my name is Artos-"

"I don't need to know your name," Link said bluntly. "And it'll be best for you if you just get out of my way and let me take my horse."

"I already said I am not going to stop you; I am not that foolish. Besides, I know how it is to want to escape." Artos followed Link into the stable as the former located Epona's saddle and bridle and began to tack her up inside the stall. "I tried it once, but Master Dorobis and his men ran me down quickly... I have the scars to prove that."

"Maybe I know the woods better than you do," Link said. He wasn't bragging, just pointing out a probable fact. "Anyway, I'm going home."

"I strongly advise against trying. Master Dorobis will hunt you down fast, he has dogs. You're not really going to..."

Link tightened the cinch on Epona's saddle. "Watch me."

Artos lowered his head and sighed. "Well then, I suppose I wish you luck."

"_Gensae_," Link mumbled. He mounted Epona in a swift motion and looked down at Artos wordlessly. They shared a look for a moment, and then Link nudged Epona into a canter, and they were out the stable doors.

Artos leaned on the doorframe and watched them go. "Master Dorobis is not going to be pleased," he mumbled to himself.

**-O-**

Epona moved at a steady gallop along the trail, and Link rose slightly in the stirrups and leaned forward to give her more free room to move. He had almost taken to the woods at first, but the going there would have been too slow, and escaping from this place would take speed instead of stealth. If they could just get off this plantation, past the woods and into the wide space of clearing a few miles ahead, Link was home free.

The whip cuts on his back stung violently, and his whole body ached from the abuse he had suffered at the hands of Dorobis' men, but he would have had to have been knocked out or dead for his escape attempt to be stopped. Dorobis could just let his dogs out after him if he wanted. Link and Epona could ride and move in one motion as if they were a whole being together, and it was one thing in Link's favor. He and his horse could communicate with each other through body language, and Epona probably knew now that Link was desperate and needed her speed and endurance.

Link did not bend his concentration by looking back; it would do nothing but break Epona of the steady rhythm she was holding in her gait. And even if someone was pursuing him, he believed Epona was fast enough to elude them.

After awhile of steady riding, Link started to relax and let himself start thinking of something besides the matter at hand. He would be glad to get back home to his village. He had things to do and people to take care of, and he was unsure of how things were going without him. It was bad for a village to lose the stable hand, and he would be content to get back.

Everything that happened next seemed to happen in the space of time it takes to blink an eye. Epona surprised Link by suddenly slowing down without warning, and now he did look back. There was nothing there to see, save for trees, and just as Link turned back around to face forward, someone stepped out onto the trail and grabbed Epona by the bridle. The horse stopped so suddenly that Link nearly flipped out of the saddle, but he dug in his knees and held on stubbornly.

Henry stood at Epona's head, his hand clasped around a strap of her bridle, and looked up at Link. "Come down," he commanded, and Link glared at him defiantly. He'd come down all right, and kill Henry where he stood. He swung out of the saddle and dropped to the ground, facing Henry head on with a threatening glare. The two of them were nearly the same height, just an inch or two shy of six feet, and they met each other's eyes and bristled, the preliminaries of a hand-to-hand fight. Henry let go of Epona's bridle and threw a quick and unexpected punch, and Link took it to the cheekbone, and he took a stunned step backwards. But he had been smacked and punched contiuously for the past few days, and this was nothing new. He regained his bearings and swung his fist in a tight circle and landed the hook-punch in Henry's bearded jaw, sending the young man hard down to the ground.

Henry got up as quickly as he could, which was not quite fast enough, for Link was upon him in a flurry of the punches of righteous wrath. After a few moments of the one-sided beat down, it was becoming obvious that Henry was in trouble. He was receiving back once again what he had delivered to his Hylian captive; Link was returning the blows he had received while bound and tied for the past couple of days, and Henry knew it would not go well with him if this went on for much longer. He attempted to fight back, but he barely had space to breath, no less throw a punch. The only thing he could do was cover his face with his arms, and even that was not enough to help him.

Link had been bullied around most of his childhood, and that way was one how he learned to fight with his hands. He was now straddling Henry, throwing punch after punch mercilessly. Link did not feel guilt or remorse; he was going to do what he had to to get home. And not only that. These people were trying to make a slave out of him, and he would have none of it.

It would have gone even worse with Henry had not hoofbeats sounded in the ground, and Dorobis and Minhan quickly reined in their horses and dismounted quickly to assist Henry. Link did not even know they were there, so intent was he on beating Henry into the dirt, until Minhan grabbed him by both arms and hauled him a few feet away. Blind by his anger, Link turned his rage onto Minhan, who nearly screamed and quickly let go. Dorobis came to his rescue and dropped a knee down onto Link's back and, rolling him over, somehow managed to tie the boy's hands together in front of him.

"Hold him," he commanded Minhan, who regained his nerve and seized Link by the arms and held tight. Dorobis stood and helped Henry to his feet, who was bruised and bleeding heavily from his face. Dorobis laughed. "You look you've been trampled by a horse." Henry moaned in reply.

Link thought that Dorobis was just laughing at Henry for the sake of laughing at someone, for Link truly believed that he was hated by Dorobis to the very core of his being.

"You might want to be careful the next time you try to take a Hylian on by yourself," Dorobis teased.

Link wondered what his race had anything to do with it as Dorobis hauled him up from the ground. But he was not too upset about being caught in his escape. There would be other times to try. He would have felt worse if he had not had the privilege of beating Henry bloody.

Epona had shied away in all the violent confusion, and she stood at the other side of the trail in a patch of weeds uncertainly. Dorobis caught her bridle and said over his shoulder to Link, "I will give you credit for making a good attempt at escaping, but must I remind you that no one leaves here unless I give the word?" He led the horse back onto the trail and ran a hand along her flank. "You have a fast horse as well." He grinned to himself. "Or should I say _I _have a fast horse. Whatever that's yours is mine, boy."

"No," Link said defiantly as Minhan yanked him up off of the ground. "Do you really think she's going to respond to you the way she does me?"

"So he speaks," Dorobis said. He patted Epona's neck. "I know how to handle horses."

Link raised an eyebrow. "And you think I don't?"

"It's actually ture, sir," Minhan spoke up. "I believe the boy's a wrangler."

Link wondered how he had figured that out, but he was not surprised at most of the things they did around here. They seemed to find out things in ways that Link was unaware of.

"Is he..." Dorobis stroked the dark beard on his chin. "Bring him back, and let him ride his horse. He might as well get that much, I suppose."

**-O-**

And he had ridden Epona back towards the house, with Minhan leading her along the trail from the back of his own horse, and Dorobis followed along behind. To Link's regret, they came to a halt at the two shackle trees, and the two men pulled him off his horse and threw his sword and shield to the ground. They somehow managed to muscle him between the trees and into the shackles, after receiving a few bruises of their own. Link had not eaten in days, so he was weakened by hunger and therefore could not fight back as hard as he wanted, and that seemed to be the only reason the men overcame him.

Dorobis pulled his horse whip from his belt, and after tethering the horses, Minhan overlooked Link with an expression of confusion. "How are you going to remove his shirts now, sir?"

Dorobis jerked the whip together in his hands, and it made a sharp snapping noise. "The whip will remove them."

At this, Link stiffened and once again tried in vain to break the shackles, but he could not have done it even if he was at full strength. He suddenly realized how thirsty he was, and he dreaded feeling the cut of the whip over the painful marks he already had. He heard Dorobis snap the whip again, and he braced himself for the stinging impact. It wouldn't be so bad at first, for his thick tunic and then the shirt under that would protect him for a moment, but after a few strikes, they would be ripped and meaningless. And then later, because of the tears and the blood in his clothes, he'd have to get rid of them and find something else to wear. And these were not pleasant thoughts.

Dorobis made a move for the first swing, and then suddenly stopped. Quick, running footsteps sounded over the ground, and they seemed to be getting closer. If Link was not mistaken, he thought they sounded feminine. And sure enough, Jennan came around the curve of the trail, holding up her long skirts, and practically sprang on her father. Her thin hands gripped the whip and her father's wrist, and she was hanging on so tightly that she was nearly suspended over the ground.

"Father, don't!" she cried out, and Dorobis stared at her in bewilderment.

"What's wrong with you, girl?" he exclaimed. He tried to shake her off, but she planted her feet to the ground and held tight.

"Why do you whip him, Father? He only did what anyone would do, and you know it! You would have done the same thing if you were in his position, wouldn't you? It's only natural to try to escape, isn't it? Isn't it?"

Dorobis looked at his daughter's hands, her knuckles turning white with the effort of her grasp, and he tried to shake her off again. "What is it any concern of yours over the slave, Jennan? Now let go of me and go about your business."

"Can't you hold the whipping just this once? If someone tried to force something on me against my will, I would try to escape as well."

Dorobis pried his daughter's hands off and pushed her back gently. She planted herself between him and Link stubbornly. She was very petite; lucky to weigh a hundred pounds and barely reach five feet and three inches, yet she was staring up at her father as if daring him to harm her for the sake of whipping Link. She always kept her black hair tide up tight on the back of her head, and it was trying to escape now after the effort she had put up to stop her father.

"Jennan," Dorobis began, but Minhan touched his arm with the back of his knuckles and shrugged slightly.

"Please, Father," Jennan said.

Frozen between the two trees, Link was very surprised and confused at this entire situation. What had he ever done for Jennan to make her do this for him? Nothing, and it made him suspicious of some sort of hurt she had in mind for him herself. But the way she was standing up to her father contradicted that feeling, and he was very unsure what to think.

Dorobis sighed heavily and lowered his arm, the whip falling limp in his hand. "All right, Jennan. I don't see why you care for what happens with a slave, but I'll give into you this time." He motioned to Minhan. "Let him loose and get him something to eat. After that, put him to work. I'll have Artos take the horses." He turned on his heel and started up the trail without another word.

After he was gone, Minhan looked at Jennan. "Sometimes I just do not understand you, Miss Jennan." He walked around her and opened one shackle at a time, keeping a sharp eye on Link, but he did not have to. Link saw no reason to make another attack, and he did not want to anyway, not with a lady standing here. He tried to look at her directly, but she purposefully would not meet his eyes, and it frustrated him. He wanted to find out if he could see in her eyes the reason she stood up for him, but she would not even look in his direction as Minhan pulled him away from the two trees.

"You are very lucky that Miss Jennan was on your side of the situation this time," Minhan whispered hoarsely to Link as he led him towards the stable. And Link knew it was true.

**-O-**

Later on that night, Jennan sat in front of the large mirror on the wall in the dwelling she shared with her older sister. She let her hair down from the knot on the back of her head, and it spiraled down over her shoulders. She shook her head quickly to loosen the rest of the kinks in her hair, and she picked up her brush and began stroking slowly. The rickety door to the small dwelling opened behind her, and Memnet stepped into the room with a ceramic bowl full of water in her hands.

"Ima told me what she heard you did earlier," she said. She set the bowl down on a wooden nighttable. "No one else could stand up to Father like that. That slave... Link's his name?"

"Yes," Jennan replied absentmindedly. She continued to brush her hair.

"You know," Memnet said, smiling and now standing behind her sister's chair, "I'm beginning to think you like him."

Jennan's eyes snapped up to meet her sister's in the mirror, and she scoffed. "Oh hush, Memnet, I do not."

"Don't you?" Memnet said, a teasing hint in her voice.

"I just thought it was an unjust whipping, that's all. What slave wouldn't try to escape?"

"Artos tried to escape once, and Father whipped him. You didn't protest to that, did you?"

Jennan set her hairbrush down on the dresser. "I was young and didn't know anything about justice."

After a few moments of silence, Memnet said, "That Link of yours-"

"Of _mine?_" Jennan whirled in her chair to face Memnet.

"All right, calm down. Link and Henry had a scrap earlier today."

Jennan turned back to the mirror. "I know, I saw Henry." There were not many people in the house who had a favor for Henry, and Jennan in particular, after one time having to suffer through being pursued by him, thought it humerous when he got hurt.

"Link has a shiner," Memnet continued. "I think Ima gave him some ice."

Jennan laughed. "And, do you wonder what Henry looks like? Bruised and bleeding, he was. I'm glad someone finally got the best of him."

And they both laughed for each of their own reasons.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm starting to think my story sucks, cuz I'm not getting very many reviews, though thanks to the people who have. Please R&R people, R&R!**

**-O-**

The next afternoon was overly hot for that time of year, and the humidity rose quickly as dark storm clouds rolled across the sky and threatened rain. The sun blazed, even behind the thick clouds, and everyone on Dorobis' plantation suffered the stifling heat and even had to sometimes gasp for breath when just standing idle.

Each person had some sort of work to do despite the heat, but it was worse for the ones who did hard manual labor for hours on end, and Link was one of these. He and Artos had been outside chopping wood near the house since early morning, and the both of them watched the skies expectantly, waiting to welcome the coolness of the rain that was on its way, but though the sky was completely dark gray, not a drop of water had fallen yet.

Artos stopped chopping for a moment and wiped the thick sweat off his forehead with the back of his arm. "I don't think I've ever been this hot in my life." He took another glance at the sky. "I don't know why Master Dorobis even has us chopping wood, it's such hot weather. And I'm starting to believe that the rain is teasing us. It will be a relief, if it ever starts falling."

Link had learned by now that Artos was mainly a house slave, besides his work at the stables, and he did not usually physically work hard; the main thing he did was serve food to Dorobis and his household and do odd jobs around the house. Dorobis had not really had someone to do the hard work, and that was the reason why Link had been dragged down in the woods and brought to him.

Link did not mind hard work, for he had grown up with it daily all of his life. But to be forced against his will to work for someone else insulted him deeply, and he swung the axe harder, with bitterness, and tried to ignore the heat and the sweat that ran down his face lightly. His hair had turned dark and wet, and he had shed his thick hat and tunic, along with his arm-guards and gloves, hours before and worked in the white shirt underneath. It was neck-high, but it was thin and split open from the top down to the middle of his chest, and the sleeves only came right past his elbows. It gave him some relief at least.

He still planned determinedly to escape this place, but the weather was too bad today and he did not want to run Epona in the heat. He did not expect to be here for anymore than a few days from now, but he figured that while he was here he might as well work to avoid Dorobis and his whip.

Artos sat down on the dry grass and leaned on the back of his axe, studying Link. He wiped his forehead again. "You handle that axe very well."

Link split another piece of wood and shoved it off the chopping block with the axe blade, and the two pieces hit the ground with a thud. He never really thought about how well he worked- he just worked. And not knowing what to say, he just shrugged.

"I don't think even Dorobis himself swings the axe that well," the other continued. "You've done this kind of work for a long time, haven't you?" The young man did not sound threatening or anything such as that, so perhaps he was just giving a compliment.

"Yes," Link replied shortly. He could still not say that he trusted even one of these people here, and he thought it best not to get too friendly with them. There was no telling when someone would suddenly turn on him. But Artos remained pleasant.

"I'm not so much used to it, myself. Master Dorobis doesn't usually give me this kind of work."

Link scoffed. "Dorobis obviously can't make up his mind about anything."

Artos' expression changed from friendly to serious. "I wouldn't let anyone hear you say that."

Link stopped in mid-swing and put a knee on his chopping block. He looked at Artos and raised an eyebrow. "Say what? It's the truth."

"No slave calls the Master merely by his first name," Artos said quietly. He quickly raised his hands, both palms forward in a sign of peace. And that gave Link the impression that the other young man was afraid of him. "Not that I'm being hostile with you or anything. I just want to warn you so you can escape another whipping."

Link was quiet for a moment and ran a hand through his wet hair. "Just so he knows, I don't call anyone 'Master'. _Sir_ is the most he's going to get out of me."

Artos clicked his tongue. "I would be very careful about that if I were you. And if you don't mind me asking, why is it that you think Master Dorobis cannot make up his mind about things?"

Link shrugged again, though he wondered the same thing about himself. Why _did_ he think that? He was not sure, but for reason he got that impression about the powerful man. Perhaps it was the way that his children sometimes seemed to be in charge just as much as he was, or maybe it was because the way Dorobis had laughed at Henry the day before when he saw the young man's battle wounds. Link still did not know why he thought that.

The subject of the conversation was lost as Artos quickly rose to his feet and looked past Link towards the house. "There is Miss Memnet," he said. "You don't have to worry about her, though. She is more of a friend than the master's daughter."

Link studied the young woman from a distance. She held up her long skirts as she made her way out of the house. She looked just as overly hot as Link felt, or probably more. Women wore layers and layers of clothes around here, and the only thing that could be exposed to the air was their faces and forearms, for anything else they showed was considered improper.

Link was still unsure at what to think of her in general, for he was certain she did not trust him. But she did not really have a reason to, though, because all she knew about him was that he had killed five of her father's men and that he was stubborn and strong. Every time she came in visual contact with him, she eyed him suspiciously and kept her distance, just as she was doing now.

"Is she as distrustful of you as she is of me?" Link asked. He had not really meant to ask it, but it seemed to have come out of his mouth before he could stop it.

"Miss Mement? Oh no. In fact, we've actually been friends over the years." Artos laughed suddenly. "She does seem to be wary of you, doesn't she?"

Link nodded, though the answer was obvious.

"Well, I wouldn't take it personally. She probably thinks you are a brute or something." Artos frowned at his own words and spread his hands. "Not to say that you are or you aren't; I don't know. You haven't done anything to prove yourself as either, and self defense does not count. Maybe you should somehow prove to her that you come here peacefully, but not in front of Master Dorobis of course."

Link coughed slightly. He had given the wrong impression to Artos- that he had an interest in Memnet. That was not the case at all, and he stammered to cover it up. "But I didn't come here peacefully. And anyway, I didn't mean for it to sound like that."

"Really? Well then, I understand."

Link swallowed. "Tell me about her brother and sister."

"Certainly. Well, Matayo takes a lot after his father, but he is much more pleasant to be around. He-"

"What about that dark-haired girl?" Link interrupted.

A knowing smile spread across Artos' face. "Ah, Jennan. She's a beauty, she is. Every man and boy in this area has his eye on her. Not that she ever pays them any mind, though." He stretched slightly and massaged an aching muscle in his arm. "Dorobis seems to have a favor for her, and that's why she has not been married yet. She doesn't want to. Memnet is the same way."

Link took another expectant glance at the sky, then turned back to Artos. "Is there anything else I should know about Henry?"

Artos cackled loudly, and Link jumped at the sudden volume in the other's voice. "Henry! All you need to know is that you can take him on and only come back with a mere bruised eye!" He continued to laugh, but Link did not get what was so humerous. The bruise had already healed by now, anyway. The laughing died down, and Artos finally continued more soberly. "On the serious side, now, Henry is Dorobis' leading soldier of his group of men, though he is by far the youngest. Though you won't find many of us around here who have taken a liking to Henry, we all have to admit that he is very good in combat. But obviously not one-on-one!" At the last line, Artos fought a grin.

"I can tell that he can fight with a weapon," Link said quietly.

"Yes, that is true. But Henry tries to be in charge of everyone, and he has a selfish side to him." Artos looked sheepishly over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening. "He's had his sights set on Jennan for a while, and he's even tried to court her a few times."

Link picked up his axe again and laid out another piece of wood. "Oh." He swung the axe hard. Not only did it split the wood, but the blade embedded deep into the wooden chopping block, and Link had to muscle it back out.

Artos stumbled all over his words. "Well, it is not exactly... she doesn't really- Jennan brushes Henry off every time, like the bother he is. I did not mean to make it sound like she was taken by man."

"What does it matter?" Link said bitterly. Surely he had not given the impression that he had his eye on Jennan as well. Or at least he did not mean to.

Artos shrugged. "I guess it doesn't." He looked at the ground, as if thinking quickly for another topic. He obviously found one. "What did you think of Ima?"

"She's... hospitable."

"That's very true. She takes care of everyone." Artos pulled up a handful of grass and let it slowly fall back to the ground. "She's almost like a mother to me."

It would have been very rude to ask about Artos' true mother, so Link did not. Instead, "Don't Miss Jennan and her siblings have a mother?"

"No," Artos said seriously, rising from the ground and brushing the grass off himself. "She died giving birth to Jennan. I was no more than three years of age at the time, and yet I still remember how Master Dorobis seemed to fall apart after that. That's when he started getting slaves."

Link was curious, but he refrained from asking more questions. As Artos picked up his axe and continued chopping, Link just stood and stared at him to prompt him for more information. He knew it was rude, but he figured that he should know at least some of the things that were going on around here.

"I was not a slave then," Artos said, as if he read the question on the other's face. "Master Dorobis and his wife had taken me in, almost like another son, but after she died... the master turned hard and started raking in slaves. But he was too overcome to grief to keep a hold on them, for most of them ran away early on, and he didn't put up much effort to go after them."

"It's strange you even remember from that early age," Link said. He set his axe down once more and ran his hand through his hair again. He was sweating so hard that he would not have been wetter if he had jumped into the creek.

"I remember some, but the rest was told to me later on." Artos rubbed his arm again and grimaced. "You're lucky you didn't get branded yet. Master Dorobis got me when I was only five." He pulled up his sleeve to reveal his upper arm, and Link saw the same branded mark as he had seen on Ima.

"It's not anticipating the pain that gets me fighting," Link said honestly. He did not mean to sound conceited, but it was only the truth. "I'm not taking a mark that claims me from anyone."

A smile spread on Artos' face again. "So you're independent. I could tell that from the beginning. And if I would have thought about spitting in the master's face, I would have done it a long time ago!"

Link could not help but half-smile a little. "Don't think it went unpunished."

"Oh, I am sure it didn't. Ima took care of your whip lashes... after you passed out."

Link suddenly thought he might be acting too friendly with Artos, who he still did not have a solid reason to trust, and the small smile he had on his face faded. He was ashamed of fainting under the the force of the whip, and he tried to hide his shame with anger.

Artos seemed to notice this sudden change, and he said, "If you were a dog, I believe you would have just now raised your hackles at me. Any other man would have passed out, in your condition. You were weak with hunger, and they had treated you badly for nearly two days. I'm sure it's hard to get rest in shackles, anyway. You were exhausted to say the least. No reason to be ashamed."

Did Artos see through everything? Link had not let on that he was ashamed, but he guessed it had showed anyhow. With his eyes still on Artos, he reached down to pick up his axe, and suddenly jerked back as if he had been struck by a snake. He turned his hand over to look at the palm and saw a thick pool of blood, which ran down his wrist and was making its way towards his elbow. He did not know how he could be so clumsy, but somehow he had managed to slice open his hand on the axe blade without even thinking twice.

"Ah, you'd better take that to Ima," Artos said. "That looks like a bad cut there."

Link's whole hand went numb with the pain, but he stubbornly refused to show that it hurt as he clutched it tight with his free hand to slow down the bleeding. "Dorobis isn't going to come whipping when he finds out I'm not working, is he?"

"Not if you're wounded," Artos replied, shaking his head. "Now you'd better get that bandaged before you lose too much blood."

**-O-**

Link came upon Ima's dwelling alone, and seeing no one in sight outside, knocked a few times. The door was so thin he feared it would break to pieces if he hit it too hard, so he stopped knocking quickly and returned to putting pressure on the bleeding hand.

After a few footsteps sounded from inside, the rickety door opened in, and Link was surprised to see the pretty Jennan standing in the doorway. She seemed as equally surprised to see him, and a light color rose in her cheeks. "Hi," she stammered, and Link nodded at her. Before he could even ask for Ima, she spotted the blood on his hand and gasped. "Oh my goodness, what happened?"

"The axe," he said plainly. He was too tongue-tied to say else besides that.

Jennan quicky took him by the arm and led him into the dwelling, fretting over his sliced hand in a way that all women do. Link had been too light-headed to pay much attention to the room the first time he had been in it, but now he took a moment to look around as Jennan dug through the drawer on the left side of the bed. As soon as one came in the door, to the left was a small bed with a nighttable on each side of it, and to the right was some sort of desk and chair with a mirror propped on the wall above it. Straight across from the doorway looked like some sort of clothing trunk on the floor. The small room had no windows, and so it seemed to be continuously lit by lanterns, and not to mention stifling hot.

"Sit down," Jennan instructed, her back to him, and Link sat hesitantly on the side of the bed that was closest to the door. He studied Jennan from behind with interest, as she continued to rummage through the drawer. Her dress was two different colors, the top part over her torso a light pink and the thick skirts a soft white color, and they brushed the ground when she moved. Her build was so small that Link figured he could span her waist with his hands if he tried. Her hands caught his eye, thin with long fingernails, and then she came to him with a white porcelin bowl full of water, a few bandages, and something liquid with a dark color in a small bottle. She pulled over the chair from the desk and sat down in front of him. She took a cloth and turned his hand over palm-up, holding onto his fingers lightly and gently dabbing away most of the blood from his arm. Then she laid his hand in the bowl of cool water and watched the liquid turn slightly red in color. "Oh, that looks so painful," she said.

"I'm all right," Link mumbled.

"But you're bleeding badly," she argued lightly. She removed his hand from the water and dried it off, then opened the small bottle in her hand and dripped some of its contents directly on the wound. "That's for infection. I'm sorry that it burns."

No need for her to be sorry, but she was right that it burned. It felt to Link as if someone had just shoved his hand over an open flame, but he did not want to let on that it hurt, especially in front of Jennan. To get his mind off the pain, he tried to make conversation. "Is this Ima's dwelling?" It seemed like a nosy question after it came out, but it was too late to take it back now.

"Yes, it is," Jennan replied sweetly. She looked at Link carefully as she wrapped his hand in a bandage. He was something to look at, even if he was sweating and bleeding. Henry and Artos were handsome in their own ways, but something about Link captured her attention. Perhaps it was how fair he was. Everyone on her father's plantation seemed to have a dark complexion, but Link had golden blond hair and deep blue eyes. And now that Jennan thought about it, she did not think she had ever seen someone with blue eyes, especially with the color of Link's. The bluest blue; those were the only words she could think of to describe it. And she really liked his voice, though he did not talk much. Most of the men she had met either had voices too deep or too high, but Link's voice matched his look and build just right. And she had never seen a man with an earring. "It seems like either me or Memnet is in here more than Ima, though."

Link watched her movements carefully as she wrapped the bandage over his palm and across the back of his hand. She made sure to wrap it just right, where he could still clutch an axe handle and make a fist. Link felt compelled to pay her a compliment, so he tried clumsily. "You're good at this. Are you training to be a nurse, or...?"

"Not exactly," she replied, and laughed good-naturedly. Such a beautiful laugh she had. "Us girls learn a lot from Ima, though. She's very good at doctoring. She's done it for all of us as long as I can remember."

Link was at a loss of words, so he just nodded.

Jennan stood and pushed her chair back, then smoothed her skirts. "Don't work too hard with that hand," she said. "You shouldn't have to work at all until it's healed, but my father..."

"I know," Link said, and smiled. It was not so hard to smile around Jennan.

The door to the room opened suddenly, and Memnet froze in the doorway, one hand on the door handle, the other holding her blue skirts. She looked from Jennan to Link, back again, and then rested her firey brown eyes on her sister.

"Thank you," Link said quietly to Jennan, then got up and quickly made his way out the door, brushing by Memnet without making eye contact.

After he was gone, Memnet turned her wary gaze from him to Jennan. "What was that about?"

Jennan picked up the unused bandages from the bed and the bottle of dark liquid. "If you have to know, he sliced open his hand on the axe, and Ima wasn't here. Keep that door open, it's warm in here."

Memnet came into the room, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Well, then. Anyway, how does one cut their hand on a chopping axe? Unless they're very careless."

"I don't know," Jennan said, shoving the things in her hands back into the nighttable drawer and slamming it closed. She turned to glare at Memnet. "Why, what do you think he was in here for?"

A brief moment of silence passed. "Nothing."

"Memnet, you shouldn't be so untrusting of everyone."

"Perhaps you shouldn't trust everyone you come in contact with without reason," came the snippy reply.

Jennan considered stomping her sister's freshly polished shoe. "Stop being so difficult! Link hasn't done anything to make you so wary of him."

"Have you forgotten that he _killed_ five of Father's soldiers?"

Jennan's expression turned stony. "I would have done the same thing if someone was trying to drag me down in the woods. Wouldn't you?"

Memnet's voice suddenly went soft. "All right now, let's not bicker about it. I would have helped him if he came to me, so let's just forget about it, all right?"

Jennan did not feel so forgiving, but she nodded anyway. She held her own arms and walked to the door, stopping in the doorframe and staring out at the dark sky.

It had still not rained a drop.

**-O-**

Later on at dusk, when the sky had finally opened up, though it was only a light sprinkle of rain, Jennan and Memnet sat alone in the kitchen of the dark house, a lone lantern burning dimly from a hook in the middle of the low ceiling. Memnet stared into the flame with her chin on her fist, and Jennan was tapping her fingernails on the polished surface of the table.

"Did Father have enough candle wick for his lanterns?"

"No, and that reminds me to tell Artos to go fetch some wax before this rain gets harder." Memnet began to rise from her chair, but her sister stopped her.

"I'll go," she said.

"Jennan, it's nearly dark outside and you don't need to be walking around in the woods. And not to mention it's raining."

"Memnet..." Jennan began, annoyed.

"All right!" Memnet gave in. "But hurry back."

"I will," Jennan assured. She left the table and made her way outside, taking in a deep breath of the humid air as she let the door swing shut behind her. Dorobis had a small dwelling farther up the trail where he organized his trading, which was mainly how he made money when he was not fighting in some battle, and he slept in the small space by himself, leaving the house to his children, Ima, and Artos. He was continuously burning lanterns the whole time he was there, even when he slept, and so he burned up wick quickly. He had had Artos build a very small shed way out in the woods that held tools and supplies, and Jennan knew she could find some extra wax to make wick if she looked hard enough. As she made her way down the trail, she realized that she should have taken a lantern or would have to feel her way around in the shed. But it looked like it was going to start raining hard any second, so she decided to just get there and back as quickly as possible.

After a few yards up the dark trail, she had to turn a sharp left into the woods, and she paused before entering through the trees. It looked even darker than it had from the house, but it seemed too late to go back now, so she lifted her skirts slightly and went in over logs and thorns. A very thin trail, mostly just beaten down grass, led her on the right path to the shed, but it was still a little while of walking before she would reach it. She tried to ignore the night sounds and the strange feeling she had in her stomach, and picked up her pace hastily. She felt like a foolish child for having a fear of things she could not see, and she would not say she had a fear of the dark, but perhaps just an uneasiness. She tried not to focus on the darkness and silhouetted trees around her and just concentrated on her steps.

She would have ran if she did not mind behaving like a scared little girl, but she did, and so she did not run. And for a moment she almost wished that she had let Memnet send Artos out to do this, but she just told herself to stop being immature and got angry at herself, which made her walk more determinedly and with purpose.

Finally she could see the outline of the shed up ahead, and felt more confident. Just hurry up and get back to the house. She finally reached the shed and tried to open it, but the door only rattled. The last person in had locked it after they left, and it frustrated her to where she felt like kicking the door.

But her anger quickly diminished and a sudden bolt of fear shot through her like lightning. None of her five senes had alarmed her, but something else gave her an ill feeling, and she quickly turned back towards the house. But before she knew what was happening, a rough hand grabbed her arm and another slapped over her mouth. Jennan sucked in a sharp breath, eyes wide with fear, and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

**-O-**

**A cliffhanger, take _that!_ Mwahahaha! Remember to review, please. )**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow, I actually got a few reviews on that last chapter, thank you, thank you. **

**-O-**

The sun did not go down quickly enough for Link, but it was a relief from the direct heat when it finally did. The sprinkling rain cooled off the air, but the humidity rose, along with the aching pains in Link's muscles. He had gotten fully dressed again when the rain started falling, and about that time Artos had retired to work in the stables, but Dorobis had demanded that Link remain chopping wood, and Minhan had kept an eye on his general's new slave until he saw that the latter would continue to work without putting up a fight.

Link knew that Dorobis was testing him, so he would defiantly chop all night long just to show that he could. He swung the axe harder and thus hurt more, but he ignored it all to show that he was stubborn and that work would not get him down. At twilight, Dorobis had come outside and had his men move the entire chopping block farther down the trail, around the curve and out of sight of the house, as if the man was uncomfortable with the Hylian boy too close to his family.

Now alone in the darkness, Link automatically brought the axe down after laying out each block of wood without much thought, and his mind wandered back to his home village for a moment. A wave of frustration and anger surged through him, and his tired hands trembled slightly on the axe handle with the effort of his swings, and his throat was dry from lack of water, but he refused to stop working until he was dismissed by Dorobis. He was doing it out of respect for the man, but just to show that he could work hard and that it was doing nothing to hurt him.

Link wanted badly to get away from this place, and he had already formed an escape plan in his head, but he did not know what had been done with his sword and shield, and he did not want to leave without them. They went way back with him, especially the sword, so he would go as soon as he found out where they were.

He was very used to being alone in general, but after working all day in silence alongside Artos, it was strange to be now so alone in the dark. It would be a relief to get a drink of water and maybe a few hours of sleep, but that would come later. Right now he just had to concentrate on his repetitive and tiring work.

Link did not know if it was possible to go to sleep and work at the same time, but apparently he dozed while standing up, for something suddenly jarred him awake. He still gripped the axe at his side, and he shook the sleep from his head. It was obvious that it was not a physical touch that had awakened him, he was still alone, but it had to have been something. If it was not, he would have laid down on the ground and went to sleep completely. He pushed his hair out of his eyes, and in mid-move, a shrill sound caught his attentive ears. And it took a moment to register that it was a feminine scream.

**-O-**

Jennan tried to bite the pale hand that had fastened around her mouth, but it jerked away from her mouth and clutched the back of her neck. She attempted to shake free of the vice-like grip on her arm, but her attacker was strong, apparenty male, and held tight. She kicked him in the ankle with all her might, his shin, knee, and was aiming higher until she was swept up off her feet and into the man's arms. She struggled hard and screamed again, and his hand somehow managaed to slap over her mouth. She bit his fingers as hard as her jaws would allow before she hurt her teeh, and he let out a quick groan and used that hand to hold her tight to him. She could not see him very well, for he was wearing all black and his face was mostly covered by a low hood. She pounded her small fists on his chest, and when that did not phase him and he started to walk away with her, raked her fingernails across his face.

He let go of her completely, and Jennan fell hard to the ground and bruised her shoulder. Everything was happening so quickly. She tried to get up but got tangled up in her skirts, and the heels of her shoes did not give her enough traction to rise exactly at high speeds. The man, or whatever he was, hit his knees, one on each side of her, and seized her by the wrists, sending her quickly down on her back. She jabbed both knees in his stomach as he tried to wrestle her back up.

"Get off of me!" she cried out with anger and fear as the rain fell on her face, struggling to get her wrists free. He may be able to take her, but it would not happen without a fight. Right now she almost regretted being so lightweight; she barely weighed anything and he could move her around too easily. She tried to be as heavy as possible, digging herself back down into the ground, but then she realized that this might be just as bad as getting up, or worse. She tried to get something to use as a weapon, but her wrists were held tight and she could not see anything even if they were not. She howled again, and this time was slapped in the side of the head. She was jarred slightly, but realized that one of her wrists was free, and she reached up and grabbed the man by the throat in an attempted choke-hold.

He did not push her hand off, but instead seemed to say _"Two can play at this game", _though he was completely silent, and clutched her throat with a hand in return.

It was not hard enough to really hurt her, but there was pressure, and it scared her. She quickly let go of him and moved her hand to try and pull his off her neck, but it was almost as easy as swinging her father's heavy sledgehammer, which she had tried before and failed to even lift it from the ground. It had probaby looked comical as she was doing it, but she had sworn she would do it one day, though the whole thing was pointless. Now Jennan did not know why she was thinking this at such a strange time, but was suddenly frozen stiff with fear. She had heard that people had flashbacks of their lives before they died, or when they came close to death, and it put a new fight in her. She did not want to die, especially like this.

She summoned all of her strength and tried to push him off of her, but he only tightened his grip on her throat. She did not think he would choke her to death, but what if he decided to? If she let herself be pulled up to her feet, something terrible might end up happening, or she could end up dying. If she stayed here and fought him, she might die here as well. It was only natural to fight back, so she decided on that.

As she tried in vain to remove his hand from her throat, she suddenly thought she heard something coming in their direction through the trees and weeds. Whoever it was was moving quickly their way, and Jennan was unsure of whether it was a savior or another attacker. If it was the latter, she knew she was more than likely done for.

They were very close now, and a gruff and demanding voice suddenly rang out. "Let go of her!" it yelled. Link's voice! On a more savage note that usual, but nevertheless Link. "Let _go!_" Jennan felt the grip on her throat loosen. Link's silhouette sprang forward, seemingly out of nowhere, and Jennan covered her head as the the man was hit hard from the side by Link's shoulder. Not only was the man overthrown, but after Link latched onto him on impact, and two of them sailed over Jennan's head and hit the ground, he was sent flipping and reeling in the dirt. Jennan quickly crawled to her knees and out of the way, and she could hear the sounds of a hard scuffle, the impact of punching fists, quick moans and growls, and all the sounds of a vicious one-on-one. She sat with her back pressed against a tree to stay out of the way, and struggled to catch her breath.

**-O-**

Link threw strong punches with his right hand at the man's hidden face, swinging in quick, tight circles and hitting his mark every time. His left hand was clutching the man's rough cloak and keeping himself steady. After four hard blows directly to the face, the man surely should have been knocked out, but he was fighting back with just as much force. He grabbed Link by the collar of his tunic and the tables were turned. Link was thrown underneath, but the man on top of him threw no punch. Instead, the little bit of moonlight that was present reflected off something thin and silver, and the fight was on. Link did not want to battle against a dagger, but there was no choice now as the man took a quick stab at Link's chest. His reflexes quick, Link backhanded the man's fist, and the dagger went whistling through the air and stuck hard into a tree with metallic sound, and the knife was out of the fight almost as quickly as it had been brought in.

Link managed to flip over on his hands and knees, and he pushed himself up just in time to escape an oncoming blow. Now that both he and his opponent were on their feet, Link had the upperhand. He was heavy, yet somehow managed to be quick as well. And now he was really wishing he had his sword.

The two of them met again with flying fists and quick blocks, and the man seized Link by the forearm and manipulated his weight to where the blond boy went flipping nearly over his back. Link had no choice but to go over, but he twisted in the air and landed cat-like on the ground, his hand returning the grip on the other's arm, and with a quick contortion of muscles, Link performed the same move he had just received, and the man had a taste of his own medicine as he flipped over Link's back and landed on his back on the ground.

Link fell down on his knees, one jabbing hard into the man's chest, and he grabbed the hood with his left hand. But before he could pull it off, the man rolled over onto his side and slapped Link's hand away violently. They wrestled on the ground again for a few moments, throwing and dodging punches, before the man managed to gain his balance, suddenly changing his mind about taking on this lightning-flash of a fighter, and he took off through the trees. He obviously had not expected Link to give chase, who did for a few strides, and nearly tripped all over himself in an effort to get away. Link stopped going after him when the man picked up speed and vanished into the darkness, and stood ready to fight again if need be, but after a few moments the man's quick rustle through the weeds could not even be heard.

Convinced that the fight was over, Link spit a stream of blood from his mouth, which looked almost black when it hit the dirt. He was not sure how long the fight had lasted, but with the speed of it it could not have been more than two minutes. He had not really felt the blows he had received until now, and he could feel a painful bruise forming at above his temple at the hairline, and he still saw stars. Finally remembering the reason for the fight, he turned to Jennan and bent down on one knee to be at eye-level with her.

Panting, he managed to say, "You okay?"

Jennan was sucking in breath herself, and with her hands planted on the ground on each side of her, nodded quickly. Link took her hand and moved to stand up, but was suddenly grabbed from behind by the back of his tunic and was hauled upright. He let go of Jennan's hand and whirled to tear into whoever had him with everything he had, but quickly stopped when he saw that it was Dorobis and Minhan. The latter held a lantern which lit up the area somewhat.

Link and Jennan opened their mouths in unison to explain what was going on, but Dorobis brought back a heavy fist and cut them both off as he smashed Link in the mouth and sent him hard down to the ground.

"Father!" Jennan cried out as Dorobis made another move at the boy, but Minhan reached out and stopped him with a hand and a shake of the head. Link lay on his back with his mouth open in surprise, propped up on his elbows and with his knees up, ready to jump away if another attack was headed his way. But instead of anything physical, Dorobis exploded in verbal anger at Link.

"What is the matter with you! How dare you lay a hand on my daughter! I heard her screaming all the way from my dwelling! What did you do to her? How dare you even touch her! I'll scourge you blind, you-"

Jennan sprang to her feet. "Father-"

"Hush, Jennan!"

"Father, he didn't do anything to me!" Jennan grabbed Dorobis' arm with both hands. "In fact, he saved me. There was a man here, and Link fought him off for me." Her eyes snapped to Link, then back to her father's face. "Don't hurt him."

Dorobis glared at Link with hate and distrust burning in his eyes, but he had never known his daughter to lie about things that were as serious as this. Would not Jennan just say if Link had tried to do something to her? There was no reason for her to cover for the slave, was there, especially if he had hurt her. And if Jennan had fought back to him, he would not be bruised and bleeding in the way that he was. Young ladies did not punch, and it was obvious that Link had been punched with force.

"I'm not lying," Jennan said softly, loosening her grip on her father's arm.

Dorobis stood still for a moment, as if deciding whether to beat Link into the ground or not, then put an arm around Jennan's shoulder protectively and swept her off back towards the house. She was looking back over her shoulder as Link was left still lying silently in the dirt.

**-O-**

The next morning was warm and wet, humid from the rain that had finally dumped from the sky in the middle of the night, but the sun was shining brightly. By now the whole plantation was aware of the situation of the night before, and Jennan was already tired of being the object of conversation. She and Memnet were in the back of the house, on the hill that overlooked the horse pasture below. They could see their father's dwelling from here, on the other side of the field, but no one was there, for Dorobis had rode off earlier with a few of his men to go trading.

Jennan pulled herself up onto the wodden fence that outlined the backyard and sat down with her hand grasping the post beside her. She smoothed her long skirts with her free hand as Memnet stood beside her on the ground, looking very lady-like. Artos and Henry came walking from around the house, on their way from the stables, and joined the girls at the fence.

"It's actually a nice day today," Artos said, lazily resting his arms on the fence. "How are you, Miss Jennan?"

"I'm fine." She smiled. "I told everyone that last night, but apparently no one believed me."

"Well, you had quite the scare last night," Henry said. His accent seemed to be thick today. "We just want to make sure that you're well."

"That's right," Memnet said. "Everyone was scared for you when they found out what happened. And I feel terrible, because I let you walk out in the dark woods by yourself..."

"Oh, Memnet, please don't start with that again. You can't be with me _all_ the time, you know."

"I still shouldn't have let you go alone," Memnet said stubbornly.

"All right ladies, let's not turn this into an arguement," Artos scolded good-naturedly, grinning. "The main thing is that everyone is all right."

"Well, I am all right." A smile spread across Jennan's face. "Thanks to Link."

Artos laughed. "I would not want to be your attacker after Link came along to rescue you! That boy fights like lightning; look at Henry, he's still bruised from the scuffle the two of them had in the woods!"

Henry scoffed, a little too loudly for the response of the comment. "It means nothing what he did. He just wants to play hero."

"Means nothing?" Jennan exclaimed. "He very possibly saved my life last night. People don't do that kind of thing just to say that they did."

"Well, I don't trust him one bit," Henry said, stroking his beard. "And I know that Dorobis doesn't either."

Memnet jumped into the arguement. "Henry, you just don't like him because Father doesn't, and because he got the best of you the other day."

Henry did not reply. It was not wise not to back-talk a stubborn girl like Memnet. She could argue for hours, and always win.

"Well," Artos spoke up after the moment of silence, "I believe I have a new respect for Link."

Memnet traced the line of a crack in the wooden fence with her finger. "I have to admit that I badly misjudged him at first. He saved my sister last night, and I think he deserves an apology."

"You all don't get it," Henry said with impatience. "He just wants to gain your trust, you know..."

"Quit being so paranoid," Memnet snapped at him, and he shrank back slightly. She stopped glaring at him and turned back to the crack in the fence. Her voice was at a normal note again as she said, "Even Father should admit that what Link did was worthy of at least a word of praise."

"But Father's too proud for something like that," Jennan said.

Artos tapped his fingers along the top of the fence, as if something was on his mind. When Memnet asked him about it, he shrugged. "I don't know, I was just thinking. When we were chopping wood yesterday, Link took off his gloves and I noticed some sort of strange mark on the back of his left hand. I didn't say anything about it, and it probably means nothing."

"What did it look like?' Memnet asked with interest.

"Well, it's hard to describe. I would say like a triangle, but it was made up of three smaller trangles. And depending on how I looked at it, it also had just one space in the very middle where there wasn't anything, and that looked like a triangle too, with its bottom up. Very strange, I know."

"That is strange. Could be anything, though," Memnet said.

Jennan did not seem to be listening to the conversation; she was staring off down at the horses in the field, and her eyes suddenly widened. "I didn't even get to thank Link last night. Where is he now?"

"In the stables," Memnet replied, startled at the sudden change of topic. Then she laughed and rolled her eyes. "Father's put him in there because he finally figured out that Link's good with horses."

Jennan slid off the fence and pushed between her sister and Henry. "I'll be back."

**-O-**

Link stood bent over in a stall in the stables, shoeing the forefoot of one of Dorobis' stallions, and luckily without struggle. Pure white from head to tail, the horse was usually unruly when it came to having nails driven into its hooves, but it was strangely calm with Link, who had fed it sugar cubes and rubbed it down affectionately with his hands to gain its trust before he picked up the hammer, and it had obviously worked. But perhaps it was because the horse could sense that Link cared for all horses, and it sniffed the back of Link's neck playfully as the nails were beat in to secure the metal shoe.

Link talked softly to the horse in the Hylian language as he checked over his work to make sure the shoe had been applied correctly. Satisfied, he released his grip around the horse's ankle and stood upright, patting the animal's neck firmly. The two of them had reached an understanding that Link only wanted to be friendly, and the horse seemed to understand without question.

Link wished that he could give Epona a quick pat as well, but Artos had taken her out to the pasture to graze with a few other horses earlier that morning. Without reason, Link very suddenly found himself thinking of Princess Zelda, and the memories surprised him with their quickness of all of the sudden dawning on him, and he thought it better to push them out of his mind so he could concentrate on his work.

He exited the stall and let the door swing shut behind, and the horse leaned its head over the door, its ears pricked forward, almost as if it knew of Link's sudden wave of depression that had entered his head at the thought of home. Link picked up a pitchfork that had fallen onto the floor sometime ago, and with his back to the open stable doors, leaned it against the wall with the rest of the tools. A movement behind him caught his ears, and he turned quickly to see what was there.

Jennan stood in the doorway of the structure, her skirts swaying in the wind. She held something in her upturned hands, wrapped lightly in a thin purple cloth. It was thin and horizontal, and she cradled it close to her stomach to help balance it, looking at Link with a smile on her face. "I didn't mean to startle you; I'm sorry."

Link quickly switched his language back to English. "Miss Jennan," he said, feeling awkward. "I just didn't hear you come in."

She took a few steps forward into the stable. "Don't tell... but I brought you something."

Now Link was curious. He couldn't see through the cloth that was over what she held, and he wondered why she would bring him anything. She walked right up to him and held out her hands, offering what she held to him. He slowly pulled off the purple cloth and draped it over the door of an empty stall, startled and surprised by what he saw in Jennan's hands. The Master Sword, in its sheath, sat there in all its glory, reflecting the sunlight. Link did not know what to say, but he could tell that it was heavy for Jennan, so he took it from her hands and ran a hand along the embroiderey on the sheath, still speechless.

"It belongs to you, and I know you wanted it," Jennan said, clasping her hands behind her back. "My Father shouldn't have taken it. After all, it's really yours, not his."

"Well... thanks," Link said. Other than that, he did not know what to say. He leaned the sword against the wall. What he had managed to say was short, as everything else he said, but he truly meant it.

"No," Jenna said, "it's my way of thanking you." She looked bashful, her head down, yet her eyes up to meeting his. Link thought she again look beautiful. "You saved me last night, and I wish I could do more to thank you. My father may not trust you, but I do, and you deserve it." Now she looked down at the floor and lowered her voice. "What you don't deserve is to be slave to my father, and to repay you for what you've done, I promise I will one day free you from him, if you haven't already done it yourself."

Link opened his mouth to reply, but her words caught him off guard and he could not think of anything to say. As he stood there with his silent stammering, she continued on.

"But for now all I can do is give you back your sword," she said. She raised her head and smiled. "So, thank you." She suddenly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck in a quick hug, the sound of her clothes rustling against his. The hug could not have lasted for more than one second, she made it so quick, but it was still a hug and it still made Link even more speechless than he had been. Jennan pulled back with a smile, grabbed her skirts, and was out the door.

**-O-**

**I really appreciated the reviews I got last chapter, so all of you all make sure you keep up all that good reviewing. D**


	5. Chapter 5

A few dry and hot days passed slowly without much incident, but when Dorobis and his men returned from their trading journey into town, Artos saw that they led a black and wild-eyed mustang behind the last man in line, and he knew immediately that he had a problem on his hands. The four men on horseback passed by the stables on the trail, heading towards the large pasture that lay behind the house up ahead. Artos followed them on foot after taking an unused bit and bridle from the stables. Dorobis always took his new horses to the pasture and did them the same way; having Artos tack them up and ride them around the field a few times to see how they handled. As the lot of them passed by the house, Ima stood in the open doorway of her dwelling, her silver hair spilling over her shoulders. She gave Artos a knowing look, then disappeared back into the dark room.

Artos was not sure why Ima had looked at him that way, but when he turned straight again and looked at the back of the horse in front of him, he knew. The black stallion kept stopping and resisting at the pressure on its harness, and it stamped on the ground with nearly all of its muscles twitching. It was now very obvious that this horse was wild, and it unnerved Artos.

They all passed through the small backyard and down the trail over the hill, and after awhile of prompting the wild mustang to keep walking, reached the wide space of flat ground in front of the gate of the fence that surrounded the entire pasture. Dorobis dismounted his white horse, the one Link had just shoed a few days before, and swung open the gate.

"Artos?" he said over his shoulder.

"Yes, sir?" Artos stepped forward and lay a hand on Dorobis' horse's shoulder.

Dorobis nodded to his horse as two of his men saluted and continued on past the field. "You need to take Aquilus back to stable and tend to his wounds."

Artos was confused. "Wounds, sir? What happened?"

Dorobis jabbed a thumb in the direction of the black mustang. "That horse I traded for is wild, and it took to biting Aquilus before I had to have them separated."

Artos looked down at the white horse's flank, which clearly had been bitten by another horse and was bleeding quite heavily. He flinched at there mere sight of the redness on the white hair. "Out of all due respect, sir... but why did you trade for an untamed horse?"

Dorobis took the mustang's reins and waved his last man away, who left. "I suppose that's my business, Artos. Now give me that bridle you've brought."

Artos handed over the heavy bridle, still confused. Dorobis forced the wild and jumpy horse in through the gate and let go of the reins. The horse jumped suddenly and tore off across the pasture at full gallop, jumped over the deep pond, and did not stop until it reached the fence clear on the other side of the field. Dorobis stepped into the pasture and closed the gate behind him, pulling his horse-whip from his belt and giving it a tight snap.

"Sir," Artos said, "isn't it that you always have me break your wild horses?"

"I have only gotten one wild horse for you to break, until now," Dorobis replied, not even bothering to face the young man. "I must say that you did quite a good job, but this horse needs to be broken by the one who will ride it."

Artos knew of the danger of breaking a wild horse, but he dared not argue with his master on the subject. But he decided to protest softly just one more time. "Sir, forgive me for saying so, but I don't think it's very safe for you to be breaking the horse yourself."

Despite the softness in Artos' voice, Dorobis yelled with anger. "Artos, did I _ask_ you what you thought on the matter? Now why have you not taken my horse to the stable like I told you to?"

"I'm sorry, sir," Artos said quickly, took Aquilus' reins, and led him back up the trail towards the stable.

When he was gone, Dorobis started across the pasture towards the wild and stamping horse, whip in hand. When he got close, he started talking. "All right, you. I'll have to use force if you don't shape up quickly," he said, as if the horse could understand his every word. Dorobis faced a difficult task of removing the horse's harness and applying the bridle, and worst of all, the bit. The horse stood beside the fence, it's large eyes focused on the man who was slowly approaching. After Dorobis took another step forward, the horse whirled to its left and cantered across the field.

Dorobis cursed under his breath and ran a hand through his somewhat greying hair. Someone at the gate of the pasture caught his attention, and he looked up to his Matayo leaning on a fence post, staring down at his father.

"Don't you want help?" Matayo called out.

"No," Dorobis called back flatly. He started back towards the horse, which had came to a twitching stop in the middle of the field. It eyed the whip in Dorobis' hand, even from the distance it was at, and sidestepped away as the man got closer. He attempted a soft and reassuring voice, but he was too used to yelling and barking out orders, so his attempt came out more guttural than soothing. He was good with broken horses, but not wild and untamed mustangs.

The horse allowed Dorobis fairly close, but when the man reached out a hand towards the harness, shied away again and ran towards the gate. Dorobis exploded in curses and snapped the whip in his hands in anger. As he walked towards the gate, started asking more questions.

"Where's Artos?"

"Off in the stables following orders," Dorobis barked. "Do you think I would be out here doing this myself out of no choice? Don't you know that a horse needs to be broken by its master?"

Matayo's gaze fell on the shining black stallion. "It's a beautiful horse."

"Yes, and he will be my hunting mount," Dorobis said shortly. He suddenly glared at his son. "Why aren't you in the house with your tutor?"

"It's late afternoon, Father," Matayo replied. "The tutor is with Jennan now."

Dorobis ignored the reply and started off back towards the horse, seething with annoyance, which showed with every step. He made sure to approach the horse from the side, and when he got close, slowed down his pace and reached out his hand to the quivering flank. So far, things were looking good. Dorobis' fingers brushed the horse's side gently, and nothing happened. Cautiously, he ran his hand slowly up towards the stallion's neck, and when he got to the front shoulder, the horse suddenly whirled around struck out with its hooves savagely. Dorobis was unlucky to take the powerful kick right to the ribs, and he was unsure of what had happened until he wound up on the ground a few feet away.

Matayo quickly jumped over the fence and ran across the field, scaring off the horse on the way, and dropped to his knees beside Dorobis, a hand shaking the man's shoulder. "Father, are you all right?"

Dorobis coughed and sat up halfway, then clutched his ribs and laid back slowly. He cursed the horse quietly. "I guess that's what I get for trying to break a horse myself. Artos was actually right." He coughed again. "Help me up, Matayo."

"Are you sure you can walk?" Matayo said with concern, standing up and grasping his father's hand.

"Of course I can walk," Dorobis said through his teeth, trying to shut out the pain, and failing. "It's just a few fractured ribs, is all." He used his son's hand and arm to pull himself up, and once standing, realized that it would be harder to walk than he had thought. But he had pride, and he put an arm around Matayo's shoulder and tried to walk erect.

"Father, you're going to hurt yourself even more," Matayo said. "Hopefully Ima can do something for you."

"Ima has treated many a broken bone in her life," Dorobis panted over the pain. He could not help but double over a little, and put more weight across his son's shoulders. "Just getting me back to my dwelling afterwards is going to be the hard part. It's not like I can just mount a horse easily now."

Matayo managed to open the gate with one hand and swing it shut behind him on the top of his boot. "It'll take awhile for it to heal. Remember when I broke my wrist a few years ago?"

Dorobis groaned with pain and nodded. "I still need that horse broken. I am determined to have him as my hunting mount. But wild as it is, I'm not so sure if Artos can do any better than I did."

Matayo panted as he hauled his father up the hill and to Ima's door. "Link's a wrangler," he said. "Used to horses. Have him do it."

"Oh be quiet, Matayo," Dorobis snapped. "I'm not going to have that boy breaking my horses. There's no telling what he'll do to them."

Matayo shook his head at his father's stubborness and looked into the open door of Ima's dwelling. "Ima?" he said.

Ima quickly came to the door and gasped. "Master," she said, waving the two of them inside. Matayo helped his father sit on the edge of Ima's bed, then stood back against the wall and massaged his own shoulder.

"That new horse of mine," Dorobis said, before Ima could ask. "I think I have a few cracked ribs; that's all."

As Ima started peeling the layers of leather and cloth off of Dorobis, the latter started grumbling again about who he was going to get to break the horse now, furious that he was unable to do it himself now.

"Link," Matayo said again, as if his father had not heard him the first time. Ima paused her work and looked up at the young man is if to say, _"Good idea"_, but Dorobis just growled.

"Can you not think of anything better to suggest?" he snapped at his son.

"I'm not the best with horses, Father, and you already said that you don't think Artos can do it." Matayo crossed his arms. "Link's a wrangler," he repeated.

Dorobis was silent for a few moments while Ima wrapped his ribs in a tight bandage. Finally, he said, "Can he break a horse?"

Matayo pushed himself from the wall. "I guess we'll find out."

**-O-**

Link was in the stable these days more often than not, and today he had the task of grooming each horse. Every stall was occupied today, for the pasture was needed for Dorobis' new horse. Link only knew this becaue he had overheard Memnet and Ima talking about it earlier in the day, and though he was interested, acted as if it was none of his business. Now he had finally gotten down to grooming Epona, and she had seemed to perk up as soon as Link stepped into her stall. He made sure to brush her thoroughly, for he had not had a lot of time with her lately, but now was a good time to make up for it.

As Epona got good and relaxed, Link found his thoughts drifting around to the hug Jennan had given him a few days ago. He was very thankful that she had given him back his sword, which he had hidden in a large slat in a rock near the creek. No one seemed to know that it was missing, save for he and Jennan, and he still put off escaping until he somehow recovered his shield. But mostly he was thinking about Jennan than anything else. She had done all she could to thank him for saving her that night in the woods, but he did not think he needed thanks, though the hug was nice. Link could count on one hand the times he had been hugged in his life, which were not many, but something about the way Jennan embraced him had made his heart flutter. He did not usually feel that way around girls, but for some reason Jennan was special. It was not just her physical beauty that attracted him to her, but there was something else that he had just not figured out yet.

Link suddenly had a conflicting thought; more of a memory, actually. He and Princess Zelda had hugged once... before she had left. After he had asked her not to go, after she had kissed him good-bye. She had told him that she was not choosing to go, but that she had to. He had not understood at the time, and he could not say that he exactly did now.

Link quickly banished the thought from his mind, so he could not think too much. He did that sometimes; he would be working or traveling, and then get to thinking so hard that he forgot his surroundings or what he was doing. Better that he did not get into that state of mind again.

He distracted himself by talking to Epona in Hylian. She seemed to respond to the language more than she did English, so he usually spoke to her that way. Some people he met, or even people at home, seemed surprised that he was so fluent in both languages, but he had learned English from the start, right along with Hylian. And he was glad for that; it served a good purpose these days.

Link was startled by the sound of heavy footsteps coming into the door of the stable, and he quickly stopped his grooming and whirled to see who was entering. He felt a slight relief to see that it was just Matayo. He still did not trust the boy fully, but Matayo had never done anything wrong to him, so Link trusted him much more than Henry.

"Hello," Matayo said, and Link nodded silently at him. Matayo took a few more slow steps forward, his hands behind his back, and looked around the stable as if he was absentminded, but Link could tell that he had something on his mind. "Did you hear what happened to my father?"

Link ran his hands over Epona's brown neck and shook his head.

"That new stallion of his kicked him in the ribs. Ima said a few of them are broken. That horse is nearly all wild, and my father made the mistake of trying to break him himself."

Link was silent as Matayo laid a relaxed hand on the door of Epona's stall. What should Link care if Dorobis got a few broken ribs? Better the horse getting to him than Link himself, he figured.

"I know that doesn't hurt you any," Matayo said with a laugh, "but my father doubts that Artos can break the horse either."

After a few moments of silence, Link felt like saying, _"If you want me to try and break the horse, you could just ask me, you know", _but he would not say that to the master's son and he did not feel like putting that many words into a sentence. So he just said dully, "I'll break the horse for him."

"You sure you can do it?" Matayo asked, cocking a dark eyebrow.

Link sighed. He would not say he would do it if he was not sure he could. "I don't promise anything in record time. But yes, I can do it."

"Good, then," Matayo said with a smile. He was good-looking like Jennan, except he had a manly-shaped face and thicker eyebrows, as well as a very small beard that only complimented his face, if anything. Not that Link noticed all this in great detail; just that he looked like Jennan.

"When should I start?" Link asked.

"As soon as possible, I would say. My father couldn't even get near the horse, but I thought that since you were a wrangler and all, you might be able to do better."

Link wanted to demand to know how these people knew all of these things about him without his telling, but he held his tongue and nodded.

Matayo turned towards the door, then stopped and looked back over his shoulder. "If it helps the breaking any, the horse's name is Night Rider."

Link nodded again, and Matayo left the stable.

Link finished up with his grooming on Epona, and it seemed as if she tried to stop him from leaving as he stepped out of the stall. He patted her velvet muzzle sympathetically and told her in Hylian that he had to go to work. He had just bathed in the creek up in the woods the night before; Ima had given him some goat's milk soap, and Artos had given him a razor, but Link figured that he would have to go to the creek again tonight. Horse breaking could get dirty.

**-O-**

An hour or so before dusk, Memnet sat just outside of the front door in a wooden chair, sewing up a tear in one of Matayo's work shirts that he could not fix himself. She grumbled to herself that men were helpless as she worked, and she was jabbing the needle so hard that she accidentally poked her own finger.

"Ohh," she moaned, and sat down the shirt to look at her finger. A small spot of blood rose to surface of the skin, and she dabbed it off with her other hand. She picked up her work again and did not even get a chance to continue sewing again. The red-haired Minhan rushed by the house on the trail, pausing only for a short time beside the porch.

"Miss Memnet, you are not going to believe what just happened," he panted, then rushed on towards Dorobis' dwelling.

"Oh, what now?" Memnet snapped to herself. There seemed to be no end to the strange and surprising things that went on around here. She threw her sewing to the side again and stood up from her chair. The sound of weeds and sticks rustling and crunching came from the other side of the house where there was close woods and no trail, and three figures came around the corner.

Memnet saw Henry first, then looked lower and saw a huge white hound beside someone's legs. It stared at her with dark and narrow eyes, as if it was wary of what harm was going to come its way. It was so large that it leaned its head on the person's thigh beside it. She heard a deep growl from the dog, so Memnet tore her eyes away and looked to the left at the person, starting with knee-high brown boots that buckled up to the upper-shin, then on to tight, burlap colored pants, up to a thick leather belt that was slanted to the right on the waist with a dagger stuck inside, up over the nicely-abbed and tanned stomach, war-painted chest, and up to the hard and defiant face of a boy with dark, thick hair that hung in his eyes. But there was a distinct characteristic of the boy that caught Memnet off guard; his ears. And she had thought Link's ears were strange! This boy literally had the erect ears of a wolf that stuck out of his thick hair, not human ears; it was no jest. He had a thick metal collar clasped around his neck, and Memnet realized the deep growl was not coming from the dog- it was coming from him.

"And I thought the strangeness ended with the elf-boy!" Henry cried out, and the boy beside him deepened his growl.

Memnet was so startled at what she was seeing that she did not know what to say. The war paint on the boy's chest was there as well under his left eye, a light blue in color and in strange shapes and designs. His wrists were together in front of him, bound in a thick knot of chains, and Henry's hand was tight on the back of his neck. Memnet was more in awe than shock or fear. And the growl the boy was emitting was deeper and more savage than any dog Memnet had ever heard. His blue eyes were narrowed behind the dark brown bangs, and his mouth was open in a snarl- and to complete his wolf-like features, though mist of his teeth looked human, all four of the canine teeth were long and sharp.

Memnet met Henry's eyes, her expression filled with confusion. She wanted to ask questions, but did not know where to begin.

"We found him in the woods," Henry said, holding up his free arm and nodding to it purposefully. Memnet only now noticed that he was cut up and bleeding. "The boy bites like a dog, Memnet! He's got jaws just as strong as any hound I've ever seen." Henry motioned at his own torn clothes and shook his head. "I would have almost just as well dragged down a mountain cat!"

Memnet placed a hand on her hip. "Then why didn't you just leave him where you found him?"

"Well, I saw the white dog first and was alarmed," Henry said, nodding down at the large hound that was still leaning against the dog-boy's thigh. "That was until I saw the boy. Minhan and I were quite surprised."

"You didn't answer my question."

Henry looked confused, as if he had not even thought of the reason why he had captured the strange boy. "Well, you never know. He could serve some purpose."

"You're going to show my father, aren't you?"

"Well of course I am. Dorobis needs to see, doesn't he?"

Mement descended the steps slowly. "No, he doesn't. So why don't you just take this boy back where you found him and leave him alone?"

"I'm sorry, but I must show Dorobis." Henry reached for the metal collar around the boy's neck, and there was a sudden quick movement, a short and savage growl, the flash of fangs, and Henry took a step backwards and held onto his now bleeding hand, howling a stream of curses.

Memnet cringed at the foul language, but she couldn't help but smile a little at the fact that Henry had got bitten. The dog-boy cautiously kept his eyes on Henry, who was still clutching his bleeding fingers and finally stopped cursing. "Minhan!" Henry called out furiously. There was no reply, save for Memnet's small laugh.

"Just let him go, Henry," Memnet said, a hint of humor in her voice. "If you don't, he'll just bite you again." Memnet stood as close as she dared to the boy and the dog. "Does he speak?"

"I don't know," Henry snapped, examining his hand. He looked up at Memnet and quickly added, "Miss."

Memnet ignored him and looked closely at the boy. "Maybe he doesn't understand English."

"Maybe he just doesn't speak at all," Henry said. He thrust his wounded hand towards Memnet and said, "Isn't there anything you can do for this?"

Memnet glanced at it, then back to the boy. "Take it to Ima."

Henry scoffed offendedly, then turned his glaring gaze to the dog-boy. "I ought to have you whipped for biting me."

Memnet was about to argue, but someone called out, "Rhashidi!"

The boy immediately ceased his growling and perked up his silver-haired ears. Memnet looked up towards the trail and saw Link approaching from the direction of the pasture. She crossed her arms and looked at Henry with an eyebrow raised.

Henry's voice got snappy when Link appeared. "You know this boy?"

"Yes," Link replied, and went as far as to shove Henry back. "Get off him. His name's Rhashidi, and he's my friend." Link grasped the chains on the boy's wrists and pried them off, then shoved them into Henry's hands with a glare. Then he looked down and noticed the white hound, who had gotten excited with Link's arrival. He bent down and fondled the dog's ears. "Gelert!"

Henry sighed and said with sarcasm, "So I guess this is your dog, too?"

Link ignored the attitude in the question and nodded. "Yes." He stood up and looked Rhashidi over. "So how did you come about my friend _and_ my dog?"

Memnet spoke up. "Henry found them together in the woods. And I suppose he and Minhan dragged them down, because Henry seems to have a strange habit of doing that to people."

Link smirked as Henry stammered for a protest and failed. "I don't see how the two of you got all the way out here," Link said to Rhashidi, who did not answer.

"I'm going to see if Dorobis has any use for the boy," Henry said, with a defiant toss of his head. Link glared at him.

"Leave him alone, Henry," he warned.

"What will you do if I don't?" Henry challenged, and Memnet thought he was a fool to be flirting with danger like this. Link had already beaten him into the dirt once; he probably would not hesitate to do it again.

Link was quiet for a second, then crossed his arms over his chest and nodded at the rips and tears in Hnery's arms. "Rhashidi can take care of himself."

Rhashidi looked at Henry and snarled on cue, and Henry looked away, then turned his anger upon Link. "You had better get away from the house, if you know what's good for you."

Link looked at Memnet, and uncrossed his arms. "Why?"

"My father doesn't like slaves near the house, but it's okay right now because Father can't leave his dwelling just yet," Memnet replied. "But I wouldn't let Father see you up here if you can help it."

Link looked confused, but just shrugged. "Well, I need to get back to the pasture." He nodded once at Memnet and waved Rhashidi to follow him, who did with Gelert at his side.

**-O-**

Jennan leaned on the fence and overlooked the pasture field the next morning, intrigued at how Link handled Dorobis' wild horse Night Rider. The black stallion would already stand still and allow Link to run his hands over its head and neck, which was a lot more than Dorobis accomplished. Jennan looked on admiringly as Link stroked the horse's muzzle. She did not think Link knew she was there, he was concentrating so hard on the horse.

She had watched Artos and her father break horses before, but she had never seen anyone do it the way Link was doing it now. It usually took weeks before either of them could touch the horses they were breaking, but one day and Link already had that done. Pretty soon he would have Night Rider tacked up and mounted.

Jennan wanted to call out that Link was doing a good job, but she did not want to make him nervous with her presence, so she remained silent as she watched. He must have a good touch with horses, she thought, no matter how wild or untamed. She was impressed.

Down in the field, it looked like Link was feeding the horse sugar cubes, or something of the sort. Night Rider stretched his neck as far as it would go in caution, but at least he was not kicking or shying away. Jennan shifted her weight on the fence post and sighed. She could sit here for hours and just watch Link work.

She had certainly meant what she had said to Link in the stable; she would free him from this slavery eventually, if he had not done it himself. He did not deserve to be slave to her father, or to anyone for that matter. He had potential, and she was sure he had better things to do with his life than work for some strange man. Besides, he had saved her life and she wanted to return the favor. She may not ever physically rescue him, but she would make up for it in other ways, and freeing him was the next thing on her list. Of course, there was another reason she wanted the best for him. And though she would not admit it, Memnet was right.

Jennan was sweet on Link.

**-O-**

**Ok, here is something to look at if anyone is having trouble with pronouncing names.**

**Rhashidi:_Ruh-she-dee_ Minhan:_Min-hon (short O) _Dorobis:_Dur-oh-biss_ Memnet:_Mim-net _Jennan:_Jinn-un_ Artos:_Are-toss (long O) _**

**Aquilus:_Uh-quill-us _Ima:_Eye-muh _Matayo:_Muh-tay-oh _Gelert:_Guh-lurt_**

**Now review, please. I mostly like posotive reviews, but even if you've read the story and think it sucks, I accept flames. Mwahahaha!**


	6. Chapter 6

Link awoke the next morning nearly smothering in a pile of hay, and was confused at where he was when he opened his eyes and sat up. He scanned his surroundings with alarm, but finally realized that he was in the stable loft at Dorobis' plantation, and he was unsure whether to be relieved or disappointed.

He got up and brushed a few pieces of straw from his hair. He had been sleeping in the loft at night after Dorobis finally stopped bothering to watch him so closely and shackling him to trees and whatnot, and Link was much more comfortable with the arrangement. He was used to sleeping near horses, and the sounds of their movements in their stalls below actually helped put him to sleep.

He pulled on his tunic and gloves, then took a few steps down the ladder before letting himself drop the rest of the way down to the stable floor, and hay fell off from the loft above as he went. He kicked it out of the way and made his way to Epona's stall. The ladder to the loft was at the very left end of the long structure, and there were so many stalls and horses that Link sometimes forgot where Epona's stall was. But he located her quickly when she whuffled at the sight of him.

"It'd be nice if that horse I've got to break would cooperate like you," Link said to her as he ran his hands over her ears. She jabbed her muzzle into his shoulder and whuffled again. Link lowered his voice. "He breaks Dorobis' ribs, but it's better that than what I'd like to do to him."

The sound of footsteps from behind quickly quieted him, and Minhan's voice said, "You had better get to work before Dorobis comes and finds you idling."

Link turned to face him, his hand still on Epona's muzzle. He wanted to say something rude in reply, but made himself to merely nod.

"Follow me and I will show you what you have been assigned to today," Minhan said.

Link walked to the doorway of the stable and stopped beside Minhan, confused but unwilling to show it. "What about breaking the horse?"

"You can continue that later on today, but Dorobis wants you out in the woods today."

Link was already tired of being forced to speak. "Doing what?"

"Follow me."

Link stifled an annoyed sigh and followed the man out of the stables and up the trail. They cut off into the woods soonly after, and the entire walk was a very silent one. Link kept himself at a few paces behind Minhan, not wanting to in a position that gave the impression that he was open for conversation. More comfortable with working than sitting around and doing nothing, he just wanted to get to work to occupy himself with something to do.

They found the creek and walked parallel upstream for a good ways before they came to a small clearing, and the creek widened into something almost like a pond, complete with a few foot high waterfall that poured down the steep bank into the pond-like area. There were a few large rocks around the edge of the waterfall, and in the creek were a lot of long stick-like reeds, and Minhan pointed at them.

"Dorobis wants you to remove those from the water and tie them in bunches, and after that he wants them burned."

Link had been expecting something more physically challenging, but he just nodded to show that he understood. Minhan handed him a roll of twine that Link had not noticed before and a small dagger.

"Dorobis would not like the fact that I gave you a weapon, but you need something to cut the twine with. And it cannot hurt him if he does not know. So just do not take advantage of it and turn difficult or anything," Minhan said. Link did not plan on stabbing anyone, and he wished the man would go away so he could get to work. At first, Dorobis had someone keeping an eye on Link as he worked, as if he was expected to suddenly go crazy and attack someone. Link was offended, but he had merely acted as if the men had not been there, and Dorobis had finally let him work alone.

Minhan turned to walk away, then stopped and looked back. "And by the way, I hope you know how to start a fire by hand, for Dorobis did not give me anything for you to start it with." Link did know how, so he nodded and Minhan left. Link turned to the creek and surveyed the area, planning out how he was going to get this done. He did not really want to get in the water, but it looked like it was going to be unavoidable. He started from the bank, reaching in and retrieving a handful and then cutting a piece of twine to tie them together. The reeds were hollow but heavier than he had expected, and the weight added up as they were together. It did not help that they were wet, but he managed quite nicely.

There was a sudden fast pounding through the weeds, and Link immediately put his guard up. There was no telling what would just suddenly jump out of the woods around here, so Link clutched the handle of the dagger and waited, still crouching on the creek bank. There was a flash of white, and he was hit in the chest and knocked over onto his back, but he only fought back a laugh. Gelert licked his face violently, his large paws pressing into Link's shoulders.

"Gelert," Link managed to say over the wet tongue. He pushed the dog back and sat up, fondling the short white hair on the massive head. Gelert's long tail swung back and forth and smacked Link's shins as the dog turned in excited circles. The thick leather collar that Link had made himself was still on Gelert's neck, and it relieved Link to know that no one else had tried to claim the huge hound. Gelert jumped at Link's face again and licked his hat clear off his head. It landed in the dirt behind him, and Link tried to pet the dog while avoiding pain.

"Hello," a female voice suddenly said. Link turned quickly and was surprised to see Jennan standing at the edge of the clearing, as if she had just emerged from the woods. Gelert ran over to her excitedly, then rushed back to Link, who thrust him away and quickly jumped to his feet.

"Miss Jennan," he said, stammering slightly. He grabbed his hat and pulled it back on. He had had no idea that she was there. How long had she been watching him?

Gelert couldn't wait to come out here and find you," Jennan said, her hands all twisted up in her skirts to hold them up from the dirt below. "My father had him chained up by the house last night." She smiled sweetly and tilted her head down as she usually did, her eyes still on Link's face. "He complained that you just brought everything along with you when he brought you here, but he won't do anything to your dog. He's quite wary of your friend, too."

"Rhashidi?"

"Yes, that's his name. Memnet told me about him last night. Ima's amazed at him; no offense to him, but he's just not something you see every day."

"I know," Link said, reaching back into the water and pulling out more reeds. "He's a good friend, though."

"Oh? I noticed that he's very protective." Jennan sat herself down on one of the large rocks beside the water and wrestled her skirts smooth and straight. Gelert sat down beside her. "Where did you meet him? That is, if you don't mind me asking."

Link was not sure if he minded or not, but decided that it might not hurt to tell her a few things about himself. After all, she had never done anything that made her untrustworthy; in fact, she was the only one that seemed to be flat out nice to him. Link was still slightly wary, though he found no reason to fear a girl, but she could easily tell her father anything he told her now. But Link suddenly did not care. So what if she told? It probably would not hurt anything, and even if it did, he was nearly beyond caring. "Back home, in Hyrule." Link tied a strand of twine around the sticks in his hand. "I was in a hard swordfight, and Rhashidi just suddenly jumped out of nowhere and took up for me."

Jennan looked truly interested. "What happened next?"

"Well, let's just say that we won that fight. Rhashidi told me he had been sent to help me in combat. Like a protector, I would guess."

"I don't think you really need a protector," Jennan said, then quickly continued, "but Rhashidi speaks?"

"Yes, but not much."

Jennan smiled, as if she was thinking something that she did not quite want to say. Then she said, with curiosity in her voice, "But who sent him to you?"

After a pause, Link finally said, "I don't know. But I wasn't going to complain."

"Rhashidi looks like a fighter," Jennan said. "And after seeing what he did to Henry with just his teeth, I wouldn't want to be the one in his way if he got angry."

Link threw the tied reeds onto a pile beside the creek. "Why do you have such an interest in that kind of thing?" As soon as it came out, he felt like kicking himself. He had not meant for it to sound that way; he meant to say something like, _Why does a nice young lady like yourself have an interest in fighting and violence? You're much to pretty and feminine to get yourself invovled in something that", _but he had always had a problem with words, and it was no exception now. He took a breath to apologize, but she answered his question as if he had not asked it as rudely as he had.

"Well, I'm not sure exactly. I guess living like a lady sometimes gets boring. But I wouldn't want to get myself involved in it directly. It's just interesting to watch and talk about, I guess." Jennan looked sheepish. "I know it's not very lady-like, but I guess I get it from Memnet. She's much tougher than I am, and much more independent."

Link did not know why she looked sad when she said this. He liked a girl who wanted to be sheltered and protected, and this seemed to describe Jennan. "That's not a bad thing that you're not like you're sister." He took a step into the water and grabbed a large handful of reeds.

"It's not?"

"I don't think so." Link felt like kicking himself again. What did it matter what he thought? She was his master's daughter, and she probably had more important people to ask what they thought about her.

"Really." Jenna blushed and touched her face where it had turned red, as if trying to stop it.

"I noticed that your sister does seem to be independent. Has she always been that way?"

"Yes, I suppose she has. Since she's the oldest of us, she's the only one that seems to remember Mother." Jennan looked sadly down at the rippling water in the creek. "She's three years older than me, and one year older than Matayo." Link was dying to ask Jennan her age, but he did not. He hoped she would offer it herself, and luckily she did. "I turned my fifteenth birthday this spring. And I've been curious to know for awhile... how old are you?"

Link cleared his throat in hesitation, but he thought he might as well tell her. "Same age as your brother."

"Oh," Jenna breathed, as if he had just told her the most extrordinary thing in the world. Gelert lay down beside her with his head on his paws. "I guessed something like that."

So she had been sitting around thinking about how old he was? Link was thrilled at this piece of news. He fought away a grin and tied together more sticks.

Jennan said shyly, "I've been watching you break that horse of Father's. I have never seen anyone do it as well as you do." She suddenly looked startled. "You don't mind me watching you work, do you?"

Mind? Not at all; in fact, he was kind of flattered. But he only said clumsily, "No." And he was starting to feel like a complete idiot with his short answers and sentences, but words seemed to be what he was the worst at.

"Oh, good," Jennan said. She looked genuinely relieved. "I think it's interesting to watch you."

It was starting to get obvious; she was flirting with him. And if he wanted to flirt back, he was unsure of what to say. But he heard a small laugh escape his mouth, and he made himself speak. "Think so? I thought it might be boring."

"No," Jennan said good-naturedly. "Not at all."

If Link was not mistaken, and he knew that he was not, he was almost sure he saw her bat her eyelashes at him.

**-O-**

Rhashidi sat on the porch beside Memnet's chair, and she sat in silence as she jabbed a needle in her brother's shirt. Rhashidi hooked his tanned and muscled arms around his knees and stared out across the yard before him, while keeping an eye on the girl beside him. She kept glancing at him every now and then; not quite untrusting, but with a slight wariness. He did not take any offense to this, for he knew that almost everyone was intimidated or flat out scared at first sight of him.

For some reason he did not know, he had the feeling to stay close to Memnet and protect her. Though he sensed that she had independent side to her, she seemed to need protection more so than Link. He remembered fighting alongside Link, rather than for him, more than once.

Memnet had not spoken a word, but as she kept looking at him, her expresion turned to interest instead of wariness. She suddenly stood up from her chair and disappeared into the house. Rhashidi sat timidly on the porch, unsure whether to follow her or not, but he relaxed again when she came back quickly. She stood over him, and he saw that she held some things in her hands. A small dagger, a metal file, and a clear bottle with a white liquid inside. Rhashidi eyed the contents of her hands and scooted a few inches away from her.

"Don't worry," she said, bending down onto her knees beside him. "I'm not going to hurt you. If you don't mind, I just want to fix you up a little."

He wanted to ask what exactly she meant by that, but she answered in advance. "Is it all right if I trim your hair a little?" She held up the dagger as she said this.

It was better than the things Rhashidi had been imagining, so he nodded. She reached over and gently took the hair than went down the back of his neck in her hand, and he felt the blade start sawing. A few strands of dark brown hair fell to the wooden boards of the porch, and he stayed perfectly still so she would not slip and cut him. But she had a steady hand, and when she was done in the back, she trimmed the sides slightly. His hair still hung in his eyes and down to his jawline on the sides, but the back was not as long as it had been, and there was no doubt he looked a little less scruffy than he had before.

Memnet laid a thin finger on the metal file. "I wanted to maybe file down your fingernails with this. Is that okay?" He nodded again and held out his right hand. As she filed away, her small hands clasping his fingers, he actually thought if felt good to be handled. He was not used to being touched, save for when he was taking a blow or a bite, and he relaxed as Memnet filed down his uneven fingernails. She seemed to be concentrating hard on what she was doing, while Rhashidi was concentrating hard on her face.

"Other hand," Memnet said when she was finished, and he switched. She went to work on the left hand, and Rhashidi watched with interest as his nails started to look nicely manicured. When she was done, she put down the file and smiled. "That looks better, doesn't it?"

He nodded again, then made himself say, "Yes."

Memnet took an immediate interest in his voice. It was very low, quiet, and almost as deep as his wolf-like growl. He would not meet her eyes as he spoke; she could tell that he had lived a hard and abused life, and her heart went out to him. She pulled the cork out of the bottle and handed it to him. "Swish some of this in your mouth, but don't swallow. It'll clean your teeth."

Rhashidi looked reluctant as he took the bottle. He passed it under his nose once and sniffed silently. The smell was strong and burned his sensitive sense of smell, and he looked up at Memnet questioningly.

"It's all right," she reassured. "Just try it."

Rhashidi slowly poured some of the thin liquid into his mouth, and he stiffened up as it hit his tongue. But he swished it in his mouth for a few minutes before spitting it off the side of the porch. And he had to admit that it did make his mouth feel cleaner. He ran a finger down one of his canine teeth and was satisfied.

"Doesn't it feel better?"

He nodded and handed her the bottle back. She swept the cut hair off the porch with her free hand and then picked up the rest of her tools as Rhashidi brushed the loose hair off of his head and shoulders. He stopped in mid-move and suddenly pushed himself to his feet in alarm, his boots thudding on the wood under him. He walked to the edge of the porch, facing the trail, and listened intently with his ears pricked forward. Shoulders back and head tilted up, he tested the scents of the air rigidly.\par Memnet walked up beside him and looked at him with alarm. "What is it?"

A low growl escaped the throat under Rhashidi's metal collar, and Memnet did not know what to think. Should she trust Rhashidi's senses? He could be alarmed at nothing, but then again it could be danger. She suddenly heard the sound of various horses coming down the trail at a walking pace, and as they rounded the curve around the trees up ahead, Memnet saw a blonde girl riding sidesaddle on a brown horse, with two other people on horses flanking her, and she knew there was nothing to worry about.

"Cousin Beth!"

**-O-**

"So, what exactly is your lineage?" Jennan asked. She had moved from the rock over to the grass beside the bank of the creek. She twisted a daffodil around her finger and pulled up her knees as she watched Link work.

A tall pile of reeds that he had pulled from the water had formed, and he threw another bunch that he had just tied onto the top. "I'm Hylian."

"Where is Hyrule exactly?"

Link did not know how to give her exact directions, but he did not mind answering her questions. "Far away from here. I'm not sure how many kilometers."

"How did you get way out here?"

"I rode my horse." He walked back into the creek, the water up to his thighs now, and pulled together a pile of reeds before cutting off another piece of twine with the dagger. "She's pretty much how I get everywhere, unless I'm in the mood to walk."

Jennan patted Gelert's head, which he had laid on her shoe. "I don't know exactly about myself, but I know that my father's side of the family has a very slight Spanish descent. I guess that's where Matayo and I get our dark eyes and hair, because my mother's family is all very fair."

Link had suspected that she had some sort of Spanish blood running through her, though her skin was too pale to be directly from Spain. And he had been right. "I though so."

"You thought what?"

Link was starting to feel quite stupid. "That you had something Spanish in you."

"Oh. Well, you were right." She smiled. "I kind of get the impression that you usually are."

Link turned his back to her to avoid further embarrassment and asked, trying to sound dull, "Why do you think that?"

"I don't know. You just always seem to know what you're doing."

Link did not know what to say next, and he was thankful that he heard someone coming up through the woods. He heard Ima's voice calling Jennan's name, though Jennan did not seem to hear it. "There's Ima."

"Ima?" Jennan stood up, accidentally knocking Gelert off her foot. She listened. "How do you know?"

Link told her that he could hear her coming and turned and pointed in the direction that Ima was approaching from, and Jenna finally seemed to hear. "I wonder what she wants," she said. She hoped Ima would not tell Dorobis that Jennan was out in the woods with Link, for her father had forbidden his daughters to be near the Hylian 'savage'. Dorobis said Link was dangerous, but Jennan doubted that Ima would mention a word of it. She was good in that way.

"Jennan," Ima said, emerging from the woods and holding up her skirts. She looked as if she was sweating.

"Ima, did you walk all the way up here?" Jennan asked with concern.

"I'm all right," Ima assured, but her gaze was on Link. He nodded at her, and she smiled back. "Jennan, I wanted to tell you that your cousin is here."

Jennan's expression immediately looked ashen. "Beth?"

Ima nodded, and Jennan let out a sigh. If there was anyone in the world that Jennan could not get along with no matter how hard she tried, it was her cousin Beth. Her mother's niece, a rich, emerald-eyed blonde, had been the only one in Jennan's life that could make her want to hit someone like a boy hits; it was a very unlady-like thought, but Jennan could not help it. She and her cousin had had problems from the day they first met, and they had been nothing more than toddling children at the time.

Link looked confused at the topic of discussion, but he turned back to his work as if it was none of his business. Jennan wanted to tell him what was going on, but was unsure if she should make conversation with him in front of Ima. It might not look right if she did.

Ima finally turned from Link to Jennan. "It would probably be best if you came down to the house and welcomed her. She's with her baby brother and a couple of slaves."

Jennan looked at Link, who was nonchalantly looking up from his work as he twisted a piece of twine around a stack of reeds. "Well, I had better go," she said. Link nodded to show that he understood, and Jennan walked away with Ima, her head down and her steps reluctant. Gelert looked as if he wanted to follow, but decided to stay with Link as he jumped into the shallow end of the water and started lapping up the cool water. And as Jennan disappeared into the woods towards the house, Link wondered why she looked as if she was going to an execution.

**-O-**

Memnet quickly left the porch and hurried to meet her cousin. "Beth! We weren't expecting you, but it's so good to see you!" She stopped beside Beth's horse and grabbed the bridle. "Artos will take your horses back to the stables. There's always room for more. Oh, we haven't seen you in years! And you've grown up quite a lot... how pretty you are!"

Beth flipped her wavy blonde hair over her shoulder and smiled. "It's good to see you too." She turned to her right, where a middle-aged man with no hair sat on a fidgeting horse. "Come over here and help me." The man quickly dismounted his horse, and Memnet moved back as he helped Beth dismount. Once on the ground, Beth smoothed her green dress and tossed her hair again.

"So," she said, opening her arms to Memnet, "hug me already!" Memnet laughed, and the two of them hugged. Beth's other slave, a skinny negro girl, dropped from her horse, her light brown skirts wrinkled and twisted from the horseback ride, and pulled a few cloth bags from the saddlebags. She handed two to the bald man and took the other one herself. The two of them stood behind Beth silently, as if waiting for direction and getting none.

After the two cousins stopped hugging, Memnet looked around the yard for Artos. She noticed Rhashidi had disappeared from the porch, and Artos was nowhere in sight either. "Artos!" she called. Then to Beth, "I don't know why he's not here yet. He's the one that's supposed to take care of the guest's horses."

"I remember Artos," Beth said, her head high, and twisting the thin ropes of her velvet purse around her wrist. "It was four years ago I was last here, but I remember well. Never on time, was he?"

Memnet laughed lightly. "Almost never. So how old are you now, cousin?"

"Sixteen. My mother is dying to find me a beau so I can wed. Aren't you married yet, Memnet?"

"No, there is no one that really holds my interest," she replied on a slight embarrassed note. "And Father isn't going to force me to marry if I don't want to."

"How about Jennan?"

"Is Jennan married? No, she's even more choosy than I am." Memnet lowered her voice. Even Jennan herself did not know the information she was about to say. "Father once considered marrying her off to Henry, but he knows that she would probably rather die."

"Henry? Is he the one from England?"

"Yes, and Jennan would nearly rather slap him than look at him."

"So where is Jennan, anyhow? And Matayo? Is he still as handsome as he was?"

Memnet laughed. "Jennan's around here somewhere, and Matayo's even more handsome!"

The both of them laughed as Arots hurried from the direction of the stable, finally answering Memnet's call. "I'm sorry it took me the time it did, Miss Memnet." He bowed over at the waist at Beth, an expression of surprise on his face at seeing her. He stood upright and took the reins of all three horses and headed back towards the stables.

"Come inside," Memnet said. She looked at the two slaves behind Beth. "All of you." She waved them forward, and the four of them entered the dark house, and Memnet hurried to light a lantern for some light. "I'm sorry it's so hot in here."

Beth sat down in one of the chairs at the table. She pulled a small fan from her velvet purse and fanned her face. It seemed to be mostly for show than for relief. "Everyone's used to it these days. But of course that doesn't make it any more enjoyable." Her two slaves stood in the corner of the kitchen, still holding her bags, but she did not seem as if she was going to relieve them anytime soon, but Memnet did not mention it.

There were quick footsteps on the porch, and Jennan and Ima came in through the doorway, blocking the light from outside momentarily before entering. Beth let out a forced, "Cousin Jennan!" and she rose from the table. The two of them hugged, but each girl knew the other did not mean it. Beth pulled back quickly and turned to Ima. "Ima! I just have to say that I honestly missed you."

As the two of them hugged, Jennan looked at Memnet pleadingly, as if to say, _"Please tell me she's not staying for long", _but Memnet gave her a scolding look.

"We saw Matayo on the way, and I told him that you were here," Ima said to Beth, who clasped her hands together in excitement.

"Matayo! Oh, I _do_ love him," she gushed. Just as she said this, Matayo stepped into the doorway with a laugh.

"Good!" he said. Beth rushed to him, and he kissed her cheek. Jennan felt like throwing up, and after there were hugs and kisses all around, and Beth finally dismissed her slaves, Jennan used the heat of the house as an excuse to go outside, and she stood on the porch with her arms crossed. Unfortunately, Beth followed her.

"I think it's just wonderful to be here," she exclaimed. She put her hands on the post that held up the roof of the porch and sighed. "I haven't seen any of you in almost four years now."

Jennan could not wait for the next four years to start. She merely said, "Yes."

"My mother wanted to come, but things back at home held her back. She knew I would be fine on the journey here if I had my slaves with me."

Jennan plastered a fake smile onto her face. A movement to her right caught her eye, and it somewhat calmed her to see Link emerge from the woods, out of earshot if they talked in low voices, with Gelert at his heels. Wet up to the bottom of his tunic, he walked against the edge of the woods towards the stables, and Beth caught sight of him.

"Ooh," she breathed quietly, clutching the post tighter and leaning forward. "Who's that?'

Jennan's smile died quickly and was replaced by a heavy frown as she turned to glare at her cousin. She wanted to say something very rude, but only said flatly, "That's Link."

"Is he your slave?"

Link's eyes were not on Beth, but rather on Jennan. Jennan looked back at him and said, "My father's."

"Ooh," Beth repeated with interest. Link turned away from them and continued on, and Jennan stood with murderous thoughts in her head. She knew it was wrong to hate, but if there was anyone she knew that came close to falling into that category, it was Beth.

And the new situation involving Link was not helping matters in the least.


	7. Chapter 7

**For everyone who's had questions about future chapters, I just have to say that everything will be answered in time. So please just keep reading to find out. :D And by the way, in an earlier chapter I said that this story takes place in the 1500s. Well, scratch that. It's more about the 1100's at most. So anyway, here we go.**

**-O-**

When Beth came back into the house without Jennan, Memnet immediately knew that something was wrong. It was nothing new for her cousin and her sister to be at each other's throats, but Beth had not even been here an hour and they were already fighting? Something unusual was going on, and she was set on finding out what it was.

"So," Memnet began casually, "where's Jennan?"

Beth planted herself on a chair and watched as Ima poured her a cup of hot tea. "She's outside somewhere, probably staring at that Hylian boy of Uncle's."

Memnet began to have a clue as to what was going on. She knew her cousin to be overly friendly with men, and though she did not know Jennan to be a jealous person, for she had never really had anything to be jealous about, but her sister could surprise her these days.

Ima gave Memnet a knowing look over the steam from the tea kettle, then finished with her pouring and turned away. Memnet said that she would be back in a moment, then grabbed her skirts and walked out onto the porch, shutting the door gently behind her. It had been open to let some air into the hot house, but she did not plan on cutting it off for long. She saw that Jennan was standing on the right side of the porch, her arms crossed and her mouth a tight line. Link was nowhere in sight.

"Why are you out here by yourself?" Memnet asked on a high note. Jennan did not even blink.

"It's peaceful out here," she said bitterly.

Memnet sighed heavily and walked over to her sister, the sweetness in her voice now gone. "All right, Jennan, you need to at least try to get along with Beth while she's here. She's our cousin, and besides, she's probably not going to be here for long."

Jennan finally turned to look at her. "She does everything she can to make me angry, Memnet. It was bad enough when we were little, and everything I like she has always tried to work her way in and..." She trailed off, her gaze falling to the ground, and did not finish her sentence.

Memnet sighed again, but she understood without doubt now. "Well, Beth will know exactly the way things are after awhile. There's no reason to fight about it, all right? Now I think you two should try to patch things up between you. Maybe you all should take a walk or something."

"Oh, Memnet..."

"Jennan," Memnet said sternly. "You can get along with her for a little while if you try. I don't care if you have to force yourself, but it would make it easier on the rest of us if you all stop all this arguing. Now you are going to show Beth around the plantation, and then take her to Father's dwelling afterward. He can't walk all the way up here with his ribs and all. And I expect you and Beth to _get along_, all right? Now I'll go get her."

Jennan put her face in her hands as Memnet disappeared back into the house. Well, she would try her best to get along with Beth, but she could make no promises as to how it would turn out.

**-O-**

Link had thought that he had finished pulling reeds from the creek, but it seemed as if for every pile he removed, two more appeared. It seemed like endless work, but at least it was not stifling hot like the job of chopping wood. The mosquitos were thick around the water, but they usually left him alone for some reason and merely just swarmed around.

He would much rather be in the pasture breaking Night Rider, where it actually seemed as if he were making progress. The horse was already at the point where he allowed Link to come close and touch him, and even remove the halter and replace it with a bridle. Link was not quite confident enough to make an attempt to slip the bit in the horse's mouth yet, but that would be coming soon. And as much as he wanted to be working with the horses, Artos had that job and Link was stuck out here in the murky water of the creek.

The work had become very routine, and Link could do it without really thinking. Dorobis usually worked him hard in the day, and by night he was nearly asleep before he had laid down, but when he had a spare moment to think, Link planned his escape. He already had the Master Sword back in his possession, thanks to Jennan, and all he needed now was his shield and Epona. It would not be too difficult to get his horse, but the shield was another matter, for he was not exactly sure where it was at. He did not want to ask Jennan to get it for him, but maybe he could just ask her where it was at the next time he saw her.

He was starting to get bored, but was not about to complain. Even Gelert lay on the bank lazily, only moving every now and then to bite at a buzzing mosquito. Link wondered where Rhashidi had gone off to, and if he was still close by. His thoughts trailed off, for once not to Hyrule, but to Jennan. It surprised him, but he saw no reason not to think, and this time let himself. Jennan was sweet and dainty, but he could tell that she had a fiery side to her as well. She was not physically strong, but he had seen the way she fought her attacker in the woods that night he had come to her rescue. She could definitely be fiesty if she wanted, but she was also very lady-like as well. That same night, when she had been taken to Ima after the attack, the only thing she complained about was that she had broken her fingernails.

And Link liked a sensitive yet tough girl.

**-O-**

"Memnet," Ima said as she came down the stairs into the kitchen, "if it's my place to say so..."

Memnet was dusting off the table with a feather duster. "Go ahead, Ima." She dusted around Matayo, who had come back inside after Jennan and Beth had left for their walk.

"Well, I am not so sure that I think sending your sister and cousin out together was such a good idea."

Memnet looked up with her eyebrows raised. "It'll be fine."

"I trust your judgement, but I can't help but having a bad feeling about it."

Matayo spoke up. "Everybody knows that Jennan and Beth don't get along like they should, but I don't think there's anything to worry about."

"He's right," Memnet said. "Just because they don't like one another doesn't mean they'll hurt each other."

**-O-**

Jennan walked alongside the creek with a heavy frown on her face, Beth close beside her. Her cousin walked slowly, and she moved her hips with each step, her skirts swaying gracefully. Beth fanned herself with her Chinese fan, which she claimed her wealthy mother had gotten her for her birthday. Jennan glared at her out of the corner of her eye, suddenly having the urge to crush the fan over her cousin's shining blonde head. She wanted to walk faster to get this over with, but her cousin certainly seemed to be taking her time.

"It's so _beautiful_ out here," she gushed, and Jennan cringed at every word. "Where I live, I don't think there's a tree around for miles!"

Jennan did not answer, and she wished that she were anywhere but here; especially somewhere with Link and watching him work, like she had been doing before her cousin had so suddenly showed up. And why could not have Memnet taken this walk with Beth? Jennan seethed silently to herself, clutching her skirts hard and trying as hard as she could to keep her angry emotions inside.

"Oh, Matayo's gotten to be so handsome," Beth continued. The two girls had been following the creek for some time now, but they were not quite where Link was working yet. They would have to walk for awhile more, and at the rate Beth was going, that would be a long time. "Everyone one says you two look alike, but I don't think so."

The last sentence made Jennan want to slap her cousin. "That sounded rude," she said.

"I didn't mean it that way," Beth said, but Jennan could see it in her eyes that she did.

Jennan tried to keep her anger from showing on her face, but it seemed impossible, and she turned away to hide it. She had never imagined disliking someone as much as she did Beth; well, maybe Henry, but that was in a different way. Henry was just annoying and really not Jennan's type, while Beth sometimes tried to be mean on purpose.

Beth kept bringing up different topics, but Jennan felt beyond conversation. She was ready to turn back and leave her cousin lost in the woods, but Beth could just follow the creek back. Jennan was disappointed at this, and so she continued on in silence as Beth rambled on and on about different subjects that Jennan could really care less about. Like how nice it was to have money and things like that.

Jennan sighed. Was there no end to Beth's bragging and such? She had never felt so violent. And the subject that was brought up next was almost enough to make Jennan crazy.

"So tell me, how long has your father had that Hylian slave?"

"I don't know," Jennan said with venom, though it was a lie. She knew down to the exact hour.

"I think he's very attractive," Beth said, and Jennan stopped in her tracks. Beth quickly stopped too, and looked at her cousin over the top of her fan.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Jennan snapped. Oh, Jennan could relate to her cousin's comment. She thought Link was the most handsome man she had ever seen.

"What, _you_ didn't happen to have your eye on him too, did you?" There was a teasing note in Beth's voice.

"What makes you think that?"

A small laugh escaped Beth's lips. "You can't fool me, I saw that jealous spark in your eye when I first mentioned him earlier. But it makes no difference, because your father would never let you wed a slave, especially that one. But my mother, on the other hand..."

Jennan had quickly come to the end of her rope. Her cousin had just gone too far, and at this point Jennan did not care what Memnet had said. There was no possible way hat she could even attempt to ignore this; no matter if they did not get along or not. This situation was getting out of hand, and Jennan loathed her cousin for it. With her eyebrows raised and mouth tight with anger, she snapped, "Is it that you can't find a man where you live? It's not like you don't put yourself out there, you know."

"I can't help that men gravitate to me," Beth said, folding up her fan and daintily sticking it into a deep pocket of her dress. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and leveled her eyes at Jennan. "You aren't jealous of me, are you?"

"I don't have any reason in the world to be jealous of _you_," Jennan spat.

Beth planted her hands on her thin hips. "Oh, I see. You're jealous because that Hylian boy had his eyes on me instead of you."

Jennan's mouth dropped open briefly before she snapped it shut and ground her teeth together. Link had hardly even glanced Beth's way! Jennan's fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. She could not remember ever feeling as angry as she was now, and she was sure that her face was turning red with her fury. Beth was now wearing a satisfied expression, as if she had accomplished her task. Jennan was frozen still with her anger for a moment, then could stand herself no longer. She took a hard step forward and seized Beth's arm with both hands. Beth's expression quickly changed from smug to surprised, but she had no time to do anything but let out a quick scream as Jennan planted her feet, swung with all her might, and threw her ritzy cousin right into the creek.

Beth landed face-first with a hard splash, and her scream was abruptly cut off. The water was deep enough to where she did not smash onto the creek bed, but rather submerged momentarily before rising to her knees and letting out another scream as she reached air. Her thick green skirts had bubbled up around her, and her shiny blonde hair was soaking wet and plastered down over her face. She yelled something inaudible and lurched forward with both arms outstretched, and grabbed onto the bottom of Jennan's skirts.

Jennan tried to step back out of the way, but her cousin was surprisingly fast and did not miss her mark. Once latched onto her skirts, Beth shifted her weight and tried as hard as she could to pull Jennan forward. Jennan planted her heels into the dirt, but she did not have enough balance, and Beth therefore had the advantage. Jennan grabbed onto her own skirts and tried to pull them free, but Beth's wet hands were holding tight. Jennan was pulled forward right to the edge of the water, then took a step backward, and so the war went for a few seconds until Beth put all her weight into her last tug, and Jennan lost what little balance she had, and with a yelp, went plunging into the water as well.

Jennan luckily caught herself on her hands and knees, but Beth moved in and pushed her over, and the fight was on. Jennan went down in the water, but was up again quickly, and she and her cousin were immediately in a screaming wrestling match. Though lighter in weight and more petite, Jennan was more fiesty and somehow stronger than Beth, and she planted a couple of sharp slaps on her cousins face before grabbing her by the back of the neck and shoving her head under the water. She held her for only a few seconds, then let go and grabbed the laced sleeves of the velvety green drees and pulled Beth up from the water, who was gasping for breath and spitting water. Her emerald green eyes were full of anger and perhaps even a touch of fear, but reached up and latched onto Jennan's hair, which was falling out in strings from the knot she always wore it in on the back of her head. Jennan let out a high-pitched groan and dug her fingernails into Beth's wrists. It was hard to move quickly with her heavy wet skirts, but she was determined to make her cousin pay for... well, what could she say? For hitting on Link? Jennan had no claim to him, but it still had made her jealous and angry, and she did not intend to let it go unpunished.

She managed to jab a knee hard into Beth's ribs, then returned the favor and grabbed the girl's blonde hair with both hands, one on each side of her head, and threw her hard to the side. Jennan suddenly thought she heard a dog barking that sounded like Gelert. She had already come to recognize his bark, but though it was actually very close by, it seemed far away to her as she dug her hands into whatever part of her cousin she could get first and threw her weight forward, knocking Beth backwards, and was now almost sitting on her. Her hands were clutching and twisted up in the low-rising collar of Beth's dress, and she had the unlucky view of her cousin's cleavage, and for some reason it fueled her anger to where she pulled her cousin up by the collar of her dress, then smashed her back down into the water. She notcied the fight had seemed to have gone out of Beth, and she was about to take advantage of this when she heard Link's voice.

"Jennan!" He seemed to be surprised rather than angry or scolding, and still fastened onto Beth's dress, Jennan looked back briefly at him as he jumped without hesitation into the creek. The water was not even up to his knees, but to Jennan and Beth it seemed to be almost too deep. Link had reached them in two strides, and he reached down and grabbed Jennan just below the shoulder on each side. As if without effort, he lifted her off Beth and clear of the water. She put up a very small fight, but he ignored it and thrust her under his right arm. She was now hanging against his side with his arm around her stomach. It was a little uncomfortable, but Jennan found herself enjoying being close to him, especially with his arm around her. With his free hand, he reached into the water and pulled Beth up by the wrist, and she coughed and sputtered as if she had been near drowned.

Link pulled them both up to the bank, and he let go of Beth as she sank down to the ground, still coughing. He let Jennan down gently to her feet, and she suddenly felt embarrassed at how much of a mess she was. She was soaking wet and muddy, her hair was a wreck, and she was scratched up and somewhat bruised. Her dress was even torn in a few places, and she made a vain attempt to fix her hair as Beth managed to struggle up to her feet. She looked near tears, and she pulled the top of her dress back in place before looking at Jennan and stomping her foot angrily. Her dainty nose was bleeding down into her mouth, and she quickly wiped it away on the back of her hand. She let out an exasperated gasp, then grabbed her wet skirts in her hands and stormed off down the trail.

Link exclaimed something in Hylian and looked at Jennan with a raised eyebrow, and she thought he was so cute when he was confused. "What happened?"

There was no way she could tell him exactly. But she had to say something. "That's my cousin. We- we never get along."

Gelert ran back and forth along the bank with the excitement of the fight, and Link and Jennan were quiet for a moment until Link spoke up again. "Are you okay?"

Jennan nodded, and a few drops of water fell from her hair. "I'm fine."

"I was more worried about your cousin. You got the best of her."

Jennan had been alarmed at the first sentence, then relaxed again at the second one. She tapped her fingers together in front of her and glanced up at him with only her eyes. "We don't usually fight like that, but we always argue."

"What'd she do?" He wanted to know how the fight started, but she couldn't tell him that either.

"Nothing," she said a little too quickly. She was afraid she had offended him for a moment, but he did not look swayed.

"You should go get dried off," he said. "I'll walk you back to the house."

Jennan liked this idea very much, but she just nodded and said, "Okay."

On the way there, she noticed that he had a gentleman side to him, for he was always checking to make sure she was all right, asking if she wanted to rest, and helping her over fallen logs and chunks of rock. He seemed so coordinated, and it was another quality about him that Jennan liked. The walk back to the house was a fairly quiet one, for she knew Link was not much of a talker, but every now and then he'd say something that made things comfortable. She walked with her hand at his elbow until they got up to the clearing where the house was, and she let go just in case her father spotted them. She did it for Link rather than herself, for Link would be the one to receive the punishment for touching her.

They stopped in front of the porch, and Link turned to face her. "You'll be all right now?"

She nodded, and a strand of wet hair escaped and slapped her in the forehead. She pushed it away. "Thank you." She meant for his last question, for walking her back to the house, and for breaking up her fight with Beth. She managed to lift her heavy skirts as she hauled herself up the steps and to the door. She took a glance back at Link, who was still standing there silently, and when she reached for the door, it flew open and Memnet stared at with both eyebrows raised.

"Jennan!" She exclaimed. She looked down at Link, then back at Jennan, gaping. "Where's Beth?"

Jennan tried to muster an innocent expression around the mud and water on her face, but it did not seem to be working too well. "I don't know."

Memnet let out an exasperated sigh and could say nothing but, "Oh, Ima, you were right!"

**-O-**

That night, word had spread around to the whole plantation about Jennan and Beth's fight in the creek, and Dorobis had even come up to the house from his dwelling, and now he sat in a chair at the table with a hand at his ribs. Jennan sat across from him at the table, and Matayo, Memnet, Ima, and Beth stood behind Dorobis, and Jennan was starting to feel like a spectacle. She had changed out of her wet and heavy dress hours ago, but for some reason she felt a chill.

"Jennan," Dorobis began sternly. He cringed slightly and tightened his grip on his side, but it did not deter him from the matter at hand. "I'll have you know that you acted very unlady-like today. And to fight with your own cousin, for that matter. You disappoint me today, and not to mention dishonor yourself. What kind of young lady acts the way you did earlier?"

"Father, it was not unprovoked," Jennan said in her own defense. No one else, not even Ima, seemed to be taking her side on this.

"Oh, then? So tell me what Beth did to provoke you to throw her in the creek," Dorobis said accusingly. It was obvious that he did not believe his daughter.

Jennan paused. She could not tell her father exactly why she had gotten so angry at Beth, for almost the same reason she could not tell Link. But that had been to avoid severe embarrassment, and this was to avoid being punished by her father- or worse, Link somehow being punished. "She tries everything she can to make me angry," she finally said, and felt like a fool. Could she not come up with a better excuse than that?

"I'll tell you what happened," Beth spoke up. She had changed her dress as well, this time to a burgundy velvet, and had earlier spent nearly an hour brushing out her golden hair.

"Then tell me, Beth," Dorobis said.

Beth sniffed, and her nose shot up in the air. She opened her eyes only enough to glare at Jennan, then closed them again. "I said something about that Hylian slave of yours. She didn't like it."

Dorobis turned to look at his niece, alarmed. "And what did you say?"

Beth leveled her eyes at her cousin. "Ask her."

Dorobis looked back to Jennan, who was twiddling her thumbs in her lap. "Someone is going to tell me, and now."

There was silence. Jennan looked down at the table, and no one in the room said anything. Dorobis slammed his hand down on the table, and Jennan jumped. He was about to speak, but Ima spoke first.

"Master, it isn't unusual for Jennan and Beth to do this..."

"Be quiet, Ima," Dorobis asked, and Ima quickly shut her mouth. It was obvious that the master of the house was losing patience, and he turned back to Beth. "Tell me what she said."

"Well, Uncle, I found it obvious after earlier today that she's sweet on that slave. When I expressed interest, she threw me in the creek!"

Jennan wanted to exclaim that that was not the whole story, but the look her father was giving her quieted her. She had to admit honestly that she was afraid, for there was no telling what her father might do. She swallowed hard and would not meet her father's eyes, who was staring at her intensely. Still glaring at her, he said, "Beth, you make sure to stay away from that boy. Now, would the rest of you care to leave Jennan and I alone?"

Memnet and Matayo went upstairs, and Ima went outside to go to her dwelling, and Beth paused before following Memnet. When everyone was gone, Dorobis folded his hands on the table and continued to glare at his daughter, who was staring intently at the lantern, which sat in the middle of the table. Shadows danced on the walls with the movement of the small flame, and Jennan wanted to say something to defend herself, but could think of nothing.

Dorobis leaned forward in his chair. "I did not bring that boy here for your entertainment." He suddenly stood up and slammed his chair up to the table with a tremendous thud, and Jennan jumped again. "I do not want to see you near him again, and if I do, the both of you will face the consequences. He already knows hard punishment, but it's about time you learned." He stormed out the door of the house and slammed it closed behind him, nearly shaking the walls.

**-O-**

Link had gone back to the creek where he had finally fnished pulling the reeds from the creek, and there was now a mountainous pile on the bank. They had dried off after awhile and were now ready to burn. Link was lucky to know how to manually make fire, for if he did not, it would only complicate things. He set the pile on fire and watched it engulf quickly. It would not take long to burn down, since the reeds were hollow, but he had to stay with it to avoid a forest fire.

He lay back a few yards from the huge pile of burning wood, his hands behind his head, one knee up, legs spread, and watched the smoke from the fire make its way through the treetops. His hand was throbbing from the effort of starting the fire, for the gash he had gotten from the axe awhile back had strangely not healed properly, and he figured it was because he was always handling everything in that hand, and it was difficult for something to heal when it was never left alone. It probably had nothing to do with the way Jennan had treated it; she seemed to know what she was doing when it came to medicine, and he did not blame her at all.

Jennan was a fiesty one, she was. She seemed sweet and innocent at first glance, and he believed she was, but there was also that frisky side to her, especially when it came to fighting. He had never really seen a girl fight with her bare hands before, so Jennan was a first. And she had really gotten the best of her cousin in the creek, and Link was still curious as to what had brought the fight on. He could tell Beth was ritzy and high on herself, but that alone couldn't be the reason.

He did not want to admit it out loud, but he knew that he was slowly falling for Jennan, and he was not sure why. Sure, she was beautiful, sweet yet fiesty, and just plain likeable, but he had been sure that he would never love again. And he had been so close to making his next attempted escape, but was now having second thoughts because he did not really want to leave Jennan.

A sudden noise behind him caught his attention, and he tilted his head back to see what was going on. To his surprise, there was a human figure just out of reach from the light of the fire, and he let out a quick gasp and was up on his feet and facing the figure in one quick motion. In the split second that he was unsure what to do, the person took a step forward into the light, and he was no longer alarmed. It was Beth's negro slave, and Link saw no reason to fear a slave girl. He wondered why she had been standing in the shadows staring at him, and how long she had been there, but she did not seem as if she had come to talk.

"What are you doing?" he asked, and she merely stood with her arms down at her sides, staring up at him. Her hair was wild, sticking up everywhere in dark kinks and tiny curles. She was a little taller than Jennan, and just plain skinny.

She suddenly spoke. "They was fighting over you." Her voice was mousy, but on a sad note, as if everything in her life had always been sad.

Link squinted in confusion. "What?"

"Miss Beth and Miss Jennan," the girl said. "They was fighting over you in the creek."

Link let out a small nervous laugh. "Why do you say that?"

"I heard them," she said. "They was, I swear."

Link looked away from her to ponder on this for a moment. If what she said was true, and there seemed to be no reason for it not to be, it definitely made things interesting. He had had a pretty good idea that Jennan liked him, but he had not been sure until now. And what about Beth? Did she have a crush on him too? Link nearly shuddered at this, for he found nothing attractive about Beth, save for her looks, and he did not believe that was enough.

"What's your name?" Link asked the girl, and she suddenly took a step towards him and grabbed his left wrist in both hands. Link stayed where he was, but leaned back at the waist warily. He was not afraid of her, but the look on her face made him unsure of what exactly she had in mind.

"Ness," she said. She was awfully close to him, and was doing nothing but leaning closer. Link took her shoulders and pushed her back gently, and with the same gentleness shook his wrist free.

"Well, my name's-"

"Link," she finished. She was leaning towards him again, and he took a step backwards and turned to face the fire.

"So you came here with Beth. Are you her slave?" He felt stupid for asking the question, but it was too late to take it back now.

"Miss Beth's been my mistress forever," Ness said. She walked over and stood close beside Link. "Here's to show it." She held up her arm, and on the inside of her wrist was the mark of the brand.

Link cringed and looked away. He had the sudden urge to show all the slave owners what it was like to be owned and branded, but perhaps a time for that would come later. Now he had other things to do, and that was not one of them.

"Are yo' Master Dorobis' slave?" Ness asked.

Link thought on this for a moment. "Maybe. He says he owns me, but I wouldn't take the brand and I don't plan on staying around for long." He suddenly wondered if it was safe to tell her of his escape plan, but she was his fellow slave, and if she had a heart she would not tell.

"I ain't never heard of that before," she said. She was about to speak again, but something alarmed Link, and he held up a hand to quiet her. He stood frozen, listening, and then his heart started pounding, and he was then sure that they were somehow in danger. All was confirmed when he heard the deep rustle of weeds, and then the closeby scream of a mountain cat.

**-O-**

**Get the gun! Well, they didn't have guns back then, lol. I just scared myself with my own story :P. Anyway, review on all this and tell me what you think. And make sure to read the next chapter to see who dies and who doesn't :shifty eyes: Mwahhaa!**


	8. Chapter 8

Link had heard the scream early on in the attack, but Rhashidi was the one who heard it first. He had been sitting up in the dark woods alone, on the top of a ledge that was nearly a small cliff, and the view overlooked the back of the house and the horse pasture. He had found it by walking along the creek and taking a sharp right. It was a hard hike uphill for awhile, but it flattened out at the top and then the tree-covered cliff sank down to the back of the pasture.

At the sound of movement in the woods, Rhashidi rose from his spot on the ground with his senses on alert. He knew it could possibly be someone coming up to find him, but that was unlikely, for it was nearly black as pitch outside and with no moon. He could only see because his eyesight in the dark was far better than any normal person's, but right now he was relying on his sense of hearing to tell him what was happening. He could tell that whatever was moving around in the darkness was close by, and by the sound of it, seemed heavy or large, or probably both. He decided that the moving object sounded animal-like, and just as he thought this, a terrible loud scream pierced the night.

Rhashidi had seen mountain lions before, but had never encountered one in the dark of night. He bristled and growled deep in his throat. He knew what danger a cat that size could bring, but he was not thinking of that at the moment. He took a few steps toward the sounds of the heavy movement, which seemed to be moving away; maybe in the direction of the house, and this put Rhashidi on edge. He could think of nothing but the horror that would happen if the cat made it that far down into the plantation, and he remembered his purpose of being sent to protect Link. He knew that Link was by far capable of taking care of himself, but Rhashidi would first do what was required of him.

**-O-**

Jennan had been sitting with her head on her folded arms on the table, but she shot upright at the sound of the scream. It sounded slightly faint, but there was no mistaking what it was. She was frozen stiff for a moment, then called for Matayo.

He came quickly down the steps, with Memnet and Beth close behind. "Did you hear that?" Jennan asked, her eyes wide.

"It's a mountain cat," Matayo said, pulling up the curtain in front of the window and looking out. He frowned and pulled the window open. "But it's way too dark to see anything out there."

"Then close the window," Memnet said, and Matayo obeyed. Beth had her hands digging into Memnet's arm with fear, and her green eyes were twice their normal size.

The door suddenly swung open, and the four of them jumped. But it was just an out-of-breath Artos with Ima in tow, and they came in and slammed the door behind them. "I had to get the horses into the stable," Artos panted, and leaned over with his hands on his knees. "I don't think I've ever moved that quickly in my life."

Ima grabbed another lantern from a cabinet and lit it with a match. "We'll do best to keep ourselves calm." She seemed to look at Beth when she said this, who was still holding onto Memnet's arm tightly.

Matayo clutched his hands on the back of Jennan's chair. "We could just stay in here and wait for it to pass by, but sometimes these things are persistant. So that means pretty much all of us are in danger. If we stay inside, we could be in here awhile, and who knows how easily a cat like that could break into the stables."

"Not very easily," Artos panted, standing upright and leaning against the wall. "I got the doors bolted closed tight. There's nothing getting in unless with brute force."

Jennan drummed her fingers on the table. "Hopefully anyone else outside heard it and got to shelter somewhere."

"I'm not comfortable with just sitting back and doing nothing," Matayo said, his jaw set.

"There's not really anything you can do," Memnet said. "It's not like you can just go outside with a sword and chop it down. It would take a lot more men than only you, Matayo."

"But we've got to do something, don't we?" Jennan said.

"There's nothing we can do," Memnet replied. She was normally brave and unafraid, but was now tense as she sat down on the stairs that led to the upper part of the house. "We just have to sit back and wait."

**-O-**

Ness jumped and grabbed Link's arm again, her fingers digging into his bicep, her dark eyes wide. "A mountain cat!" she exclaimed. Her voice was already high enough to begin with, but was nearly inaudible when she was afraid.

"I've got to get you inside somwhere," Link said. He had to think quickly, for there was no telling what the next idle moments might bring, and he moved off in the direction of the house with Ness close behind. He did not want to leave the fire unattended, but he did not have much choice at this point, for he did not want to tell Ness to go back to the house alone in the dark. And besides, a light rain was beginning to fall, and if anything happened with the fire, it would not be happening for long.

Link once again wished that he had his sword with him, and it was not far away, but he did not have time to go back to the rock beside the waterfall to get it. He mainly wanted to get Ness out of the way of danger, and if he had to get violent on the way, he would have no choice but to do it with his hands.

Ness had to take two steps for every one Link took, but he was glad that she was fast and kept up with him. Her grip on his arm was now vice-like, and he was starting to wonder if she was cutting off his circulation. Another noise suddenly caught Link's ear, and he stopped quick beside a fallen log to listen. A long, deep bark- more like two barks dragged into one- howled from somewhere nearby, and Link whispered to himself, "Rhashidi!" He looked over at Ness, who was looking back at him with an expression of fear and confusion. "He's got our backs for now. Come on." They continued on through the woods at a quick pace, and Link knew he had to act fast if there was any hope for Rhashidi.

**-O-**

Rhashidi moved without hesitation and hit the massive cat hard from the side. His teeth snapped together over the cat's flank three times before he sprang back to escape the oncoming razor-sharp paw. It swiped a few inches from Rhashidi's face, who sprang forward again with a terrible growl in his throat, and latched himself onto the back of the cat's neck, which let out an angry scream and struggled to throw the wolf-boy off, who only dug his teeth in harder and clutched tighter with his hands and knees. He was doing what was instinct to him, and that was laying his life on the line to protect someone else. He was not doing it only for Link, but for everyone else who lived on the plantation and had little chance of defending themselves. It never entered his head that the people in the house were locked in tight and in no immediate danger; he was just doing his duty and would fight to the death to protect them.

The cat was trying its best to shake Rhashidi off, but was doing nothing but hurting itself. It let out another angry scream and contorted its body around, and Rhashidi felt its huge teeth sink into his arm. He let go with his teeth and used the cat's back as leverage to jump off, and hit the ground gracefully on his feet, the growl in his throat intensifying to show the cat that he was not here merely to take harm. The two of them stood a few feet apart, growling and spitting, before they clashed together again in a fury of teeth and claws.

Rhashidi found himself pinned down to the ground with the huge cat on top, its claws digging into the boy's shoulder, and its massive jaws closed over his throat. Rhashidi felt no fear, only fury that he would go down dead to leave the cat to roam the land and do as it pleased. And the only thing that saved him was the metal collar around his neck, and it defied the cat's teeth. Realizing that he was alive, Rhashidi bent at the waist and planted both feet onto the bottom of the cat, one in its chest and the other in its soft stomach, and shoved it clear of the ground, then threw it backwards over his head. Its teeth slipped off the metal collar, and it landed with a hard thud in the dirt. Rhashidi somersaulted up to his feet and prepared himself for another hard clash. His jaws were hurting with the effort he had put into his bites, and the blood from his shoulders ran down his back in streaks. He was concentrating so hard on the fight at hand that he did not feel pain; the only thing he knew was the need to protect, and to do that he had to fight.

Rhashidi was six feet tall and all lean, muscled brawn, but he was no match in size for the cat. But he had the will to fight, and with that, size was no matter in this situation. He threw his entire weight onto the cat's head, the most dangerous place he could be, but he did not care. But not to say that he wanted to die- he did not, but if it took his death to protect other people, then so be it.

As his teeth sank deep into the thick throat, his hands clasped hard onto the pointed ears, and he bit down with all the power he had in his jaws. Link was the only one that knew how terrible a fighter Rhashidi was, and no one else would know until they saw it. And now Rhashidi worked his strong jaws in a chewing motion before getting a good hold and clamping down hard. The cat let out a growl and planted its back paws on the ground, and dug the huge claws of the front into Rhashidi's chest and arm, knocking him to the ground once again. It tried to work its teeth over some part of the boy's body, but it was impossible with its opponent hanging viciously to its throat.

The two of them were locked motionless like this for a few silent moments, each trying to get the best of the other, and it would only be a matter of time before one of them died. The cat would lose room for air soon, and Rhashidi would bleed to death before a direct blow could get him down. But the next move was Rhashidi's, and he clamped his teeth tighter and shook his head with great force as a strong dog does when it catches prey, and the cat made a choking sound. It was still struggling to get a bite down on Rhashidi, and was still failing.

Rhashidi could feel blood on his bare chest and arms, but was unsure if it was his own or that cat's. It was more than likely both, for he had managed a few sharp bites before he went down again. He had his ears laid flat to avoid the powerful jaws above, and he growled again. The rain was starting to fall harder, but it was ignored by the two who where locked in a motionless battle. Rhashidi's knee was up and pressing into the cat's stomach, and he felt the claws in his arm dig in harder. Suddenly, the stillness was broken when the both of them decided to attack at the same time, and there was another vicious flurry of movement, blood, and snarls. Rhashidi was getting tired, but the amount of adrenaline got the best of fatigue, and there was nothing on his mind but finishing this battle. He and the cat broke apart for a split second, and in that small space of time, Rhashidi reached to his belt and whipped out his dagger. His animal-like instincts had made him forget all about weapons, but now he knew he had to do what he had to do, and he brought back his hand and stabbed the cat repeatedly at the throat, jabbing the dagger in all the way up to the handle and twisting, then yanking it back out and starting it all over again.

By now the blood had spotted all over the dirt, and was being driven in by the rain. The cat was backing up as Rhashidi was coming forward, and the latter suddenly had a new urge to fight, for he knew now that the cat was going down. He did not think or care that he just might go down with it- all he cared about was taking the life of this beast.

He jumped forward again and hooked his teeth into the thick throat once more, still driving in and slicing with the dagger, and he suddenly felt the fight go out of the huge animal. He flipped the cat over onto its side and hung on to the throat with every ounce of strength he had left in him, and then after a few minutes he felt its body fall limp.

A few seconds passed where Rhashidi did not budge, his sharp teeth and dagger still planted into the throat of the cat, and then he pulled back and spit the blood from his mouth. The fight was over. Rhashidi had at last killed the cat, but was half killed himself in doing it. He fell back and lay staring up at the dark sky, panting hard; not how a wolf pants, but in long, deep, human gasps. He loosened his grip on his dagger, and it slipped to the ground. He was only now feeling the pain in his body, and it hurt to move. He had had some bad fights in his lifetime, but this had to be the most intense. His back hurt from the struggle, and his chest, arms, and shoulders were burning and stinging for obvious reasons. He heard a familiar noise- it sounded like someone calling his name, and he recognized the voice.

**-O-**

Link discovered Rhashidi lying beside the umoving body of the mountain cat, and the wolf-boy was sucking in large breaths and exhaling just as hard. There was blood everywhere that showed up black in the darkness, and the whole area held the signs of a struggle. Even in the dark, Link could see that the cat's throat was basically lacerated, and he spotted the shine of the dagger beside Rhashidi's right hand. He quickly picked it up and stuck it in his own belt, then bent down with concern at his friend.

"Rhashidi." He reached out and touched the shoulder that was the least torn up, and Rhashidi coughed. Link could not see enough to tell what part of his friend's body was bleeding and what was not, so he just thrust both arms under Rhashidi's body, one around his shoulders and the other under his knees, and lifted him up from the ground. Link felt warm blood soak through his tunic, and he knew he had to get Rhashidi to Ima quick.

Dorobis had told Link to stay away from the house, but Link thought to Hades with that, his friend might be dying. He had already taken Ness back to the house anyway, and now he made his way through the darkness while carrying Rhashidi. He was heavy, but Link could manage him without much struggle.

Rhashidi coughed again and said shakily, "I'm the one that's supposed to be taking care of you."

Link stepped over a fallen log and kept his eyes on the dark trail in front of him. He braced his arms against the other's weight. "Don't fight me. You're the one that needs help right now." There was no return arguement, and Rhashidi suddenly fell limp, but Link could feel the boy's chest rising and falling heavily with the effort of breathing. Link was not sure if his friend was going to live or die, and the sudden thought scared him. But the only thing to do was drive on and get to Ima as quickly as possible.

**-O-**

Matayo was the first to get to the window at the sound of heavy footsteps on the porch, but everyone jumped at the sudden thud of it. He pulled back the curtain and wiped the fog from the window with his wrist.

"Who is it?" Ima asked, on edge.

Matayo squinted. "It's Link. And it looks like that wolf-boy of his."

Memnet sprang to her feet. "Rhashidi. Is he hurt?"

"Oh, yes," Matayo said sympathetically, and opened the door before Link even had a chance to knock.

Link came inside without anyone bidding him to do so, and Jennan stood from her chair at the sight of him. Her eyes then fell to Rhashidi, and she caught her breath at all the blood.

"He's unconscious," Link said. Ima took the lantern from the middle of the table, threw on a thin tablecloth, and patted the surface. Link lay Rhashidi's motionless body down, and Matayo grabbed the chairs from the table and stacked them in a corner.

"Was he awake when you came across him?" Ima asked Link, opening a cabinet near the ceiling and pulling out a handful of clean rags.

"Yes."

"What about the mountain cat, did you see it?" Matayo asked.

Link kept his eyes on Rhashidi but replied, "The cat's dead. We can thank Rhashidi for that."

Memnet shook her arm free of Beth and came over to the side of the table. "Are you telling us he killed that mountain cat single-handedly?"

"Yes."

Memnet laid a hand on Rhashidi's forehead and pushed back the dark hair from his eyes. "He must be fearless."

Link stepped back against the wall to get out of Ima's way, who was soaking up the blood on Rhashidi's body with the rags and then merely dropping them to the floor once they were too soaked to use again. With Memnet's help, she finally got the blood out of the way and got down to the actual deep cuts on his chest and shoulders. Her jaw was clenched and her eyes sorrowful as she put prsessure on the wounds. "He's lucky to only have the gashes he has. A mountain cat is strong enough to kill someone with a single blow."

Memnet turned to Jennan. "Bring me the bowl of water from upstairs. Hurry."

Jennan dashed past Beth up the steps and quickly returned with the porcelin bowl, filled with fresh water. She handed it over to her sister, who was not finished giving orders.

"Ness," Memnet said, and the one she addressed rose from her spot on the floor beside Artos. "Go out into Ima's dwelling and bring me everything from the medicine drawer. You know where it is?"

Ness nodded and was out the front door in an instant. Link pressed his back against the wall to make himself take up as a little room as possible, to get out of the way of all the dashing women. He suddenly felt someone at his left side, and he looked down to see Jennan. He was pleased to see her there, but would have been moreso if it had not been for the situation at hand.

"Poor Rhashidi," Mement was saying quietly as she continued to stroke his hair from his eyes. She then moved on to massaging his ears gently as Ima continued to mop up the blood. "But he's so brave."

"The question is," Artos said, "is he going to be all right?"

Silence followed the question for a few seconds before Ima said, "It's too early to tell. If he pulls through the basic wounds, we have infection to worry about next."

Ness burst back inside the door, an entire drawer in her hands. "I didn't know what you wanted and what you didn't, Miss Memnet, so I brought the whole thing."

Memnet took it from her. "It doesn't matter, as long as we have what we need." As Ness sat down beside Artos again, Memnet stirred around the contents of the drawer before she found what she was looking for. She held up a bottle with a dark liquid inside, and Link recognized it as what Jennan had used to disinfect the gash on his hand that he had gotten from the axe. He remembered how much it had stung his open wound, and he cringed to think of what it would feel like over a large part of Rhashidi's body.

"That's going to burn, but we have to do it," Ima said, and stepped out of the way to give Memnet some elbow room. The latter leaned over the wounded boy and unscrewed the lid of the bottle, then titled it ever so slightly to where the thin liquid came out in a very small stream, and she ran it down the length of the slice on the wolf-boy's chest. It set into the deep wound and obviously went to its stinging work, for Rhashidi suddenly awakened and jumped nearly a foot into the air before Link shot past Memnet and pinned his shoulders to the table.

Link said something in Hylian, then interpreted into English as to, "Lie back, lie back. Hold still", and Rhashidi ceased fighting. He looked up at the faces above him groggily, and moaned with pain.

Memnet had jumped back against the wall during the quick struggle, and now let out a deep breath. Matayo said on a light note, as if to make the situation better, "Well, at least he is awake." Memnet frowned at him and took her place at the table as Link let go of Rhashidi's shoulders and stepped back beside Jennan.

Rhashidi coughed again and then spit out a whole mouthful of blood between his teeth. It hit the floor with a smack and splattered under the table, and Beth pushed herself onto a higher step and looked sick. Ima reached into another cabinet and pulled out a wooden bowl, then lined it with a clean rag. She sat it on the table beside Rhashidi. "Spit in this if you have to. What's bleeding in your mouth?"

Rhashidi spit into the bowl. "Nothing," he said, his deep voice gravelly.

"It's blood from the cat," Link spoke up, and Beth stood up and rushed up the stairs. Link watched her with an eyebrow raised, then turned with a serious expression to Rhashidi. "It's a wonder you didn't swallow that on the way down here."

Rhashidi spit again and shrugged, then sat up as Memnet silently bade him. She reached into the drawer and pulled out a roll of bandages, also something of which Jennan had nursed Link's hand, and began unwinding a large piece. She cut it off with a small dagger from a pocket in her skirts, and started wrapping Rhashidi's wounds. It was difficult to do it just right, for the cuts and gashes were in places that were hard to wrap, but Memnet managed after awhile. And after she was done, Rhashidi groggily slid off the table and headed towards the door.

"Rhashidi, you shouldn't go just yet," Ima called, and Rhashidi stopped.

Still facing the door, he said, "Thank you, but I'm not meant to just sit around."

"It's recovery, you're injured," Ima argued. He continued out the door and disappeared into the rain and darkness, and Ima took a breath to call him back, but Link waved a hand.

"He's stubborn. You can't get him back in here if he doesn't want to come."

Matayo suddenly cackled. "No wonder you two are friends! You're almost just alike."

Memnet looked at her brother. "And how's that?"

"They're both mule-headed, laid back but terrible when it comes to fighting, and neither of them talk much. Just look at it. Link talks to animals more than he talks to people."

Link was surprised that Matayo had even noticed all of these things, and he looked down at Jennan with no expression on his face, but a laugh in his blue eyes. She looked back up at him, smiling, and then their brief moment was ended with Ima's words.

"I suppose Rhashidi's going to be all right, after seeing his quick recovery," she said.

Memnet pulled back the curtain on the window and looked out. "He didn't recover. He's obviously just too stubborn to sit still. And if that's what he wants to do, I guess none of us should get in his way."

"But he's apparently going to live," Ima said. "Perhaps he's much stronger than I had thought."

Matayo said, "Well, you've got to be strong if you can kill a mountian lion by yourself. By the way, Link, where's the body? Someone should bury it."

"Up in the woods, back behind the pasture."

"I guess Father and I will find it in the morning, and maybe Artos," Matayo said. "And I do have to say, Rhashidi is quite the fighter. And brave, too, just as Memnet said."

After a minute or so of silence, Link finally said that he had to get back to the bonfire. "Which is probably burnt out by now."

Matayo looked alarmed. "You left it burning unattended? You risked the whole forest going up in flames!"

"Matayo," Memnet scolded, but Ness spoke up from the floor.

"It was my fault, really. He could have taken care of it, but I was out there with 'im and he just wanted to get me out of danger. That's all."

"Still..." Matayo said, and then dropped the subject and glanced up the stairs. "I guess I should go see if Beth's all right. She was looking quite sick there for awhile."

Link said that he had to go again, nodded at Jennan, and was out the door in a flash.

**-O-**

Jennan could not sleep that night, and simply because her mind was on Link. It was strange, really, for she had never dwelled this long on the thought of a boy. There was no mistaking her romantic interest in him, but she was confused. She had no idea how he felt about her, if anything. She was unsure what she had that he would like. Sure, people all the time told her how beautiful she was, and she thought she was okay, but other than that she did not think she had much to offer. She had strict morals, and Link should know that just by her personality. And she thought on her personality for a moment. That could not possibly be a reason for him to like her, could it? Then she scoffed silently at herself and threw off her covers. What made her think that Link liked her at all? Just that she was hoping? Yes, and nothing more.

She looked to her left, over at Memnet, who was sleeping peacefully in her bed. Memnet did not have a particular interest in any man, as far as Jennan knew, and that was sometimes considered lucky. Beth was sleeping in a pile of blankets between the sisters' beds, and Jennan was not happy with this arrangement in the least. She wanted her cousin to go back home, especially when she had started showing interest in Link.

Jennan ran her hands down her silk nightgown and stared up at the dark ceiling. Only a small amount of light was coming through the open window, for the moon was still hidden behind the clouds in the sky, but at least the rain cooled off the air somewhat. She was getting tired of summer, especially because of the unusual heat they were having this year.

Beth and Memnet both seemed to be sleeping without trouble, and Jennan heard Beth roll over on the floor and sighed contentedly in her sleep. Jennan sighed with frustration. She had never lain awake this long without being sick or something of the sort. It was as if her mind and body were ignoring the fact that it was time for sleep, and to her it felt like it was the middle of the day, only that she was lying in her bed in the dark.

After awhile of still not falling asleep, Jennan started considering getting up and coming back to bed when she was tired, but there was nothing she could do in the house that would not wake everyone else up. Matayo and Artos shared the room downstairs that was built from the side of the kitchen, and Ima was in her dwelling just on the other side of the kitchen wall. And she did not want to go outside, for it was raining and dark and she would be able to see nothing. She was still a little wary of going outdoors from the scare of the mountain cat, but Link had said that Rhashidi had killed it, and she would believe anything Link said. Beth, on the other hand, refused to even step out onto the porch, especially by herself. Memnet had tried to tell her that everything was all right, but their cousin would just merely not listen.

Earlier in the night, Artos had gone down past the horse field behind the house to Dorobis' dwelling and assured him that everything was fine, save for the wounds Rhashidi had received. Dorobis did not seem to care too much about what had happened to the wolf-boy, which Jennan thought was strange because Rhashidi was the one who had protected them all from danger, but seemed to care more for what uses he could have for him. He had said to Artos that Rhashidi would make a good guard for the horse pasture, and that he had tried to get Gelert to stay with the horses, but that the dog would not leave Link's side. And little did Dorobis know, but Rhashidi had his protective eyes on the whole plantation, and not just the horses.

Now Jennan rolled over on her side to face the wall and tried to think of some way to make herself fall asleep. She had never heard of such a thing before, so it was probably useless to think on it. She knew Ima had some kind of liquid that would make a person knock out for hours if you took enough of it, but that seemed to be ill use and waste of useful medicine.

After awhile, she finally stopped thinking about sleep and let her mind drift to other things. And with the sound of the rain falling on the house, she finally fell asleep and dreamed of Link.

In the morning, Jennan awoke slowly and felt someone shaking her shoulder. She had always been a light sleeper, but that night was different. She opened her eyes slightly and saw Memnet standing over her, fully dressed.

"Jennan, get up," Mement was saying. She stopped shaking her sister and stepped back from the bed. "Your tutors here, so you had better hurry."

Jennan shot out of bed. Beth was obviously already up as well, for she was nowhere in sight. "It's that late already?" Jennan exclaimed.

"I don't think a cyclone could have woken you up this morning," Memnet said. She reached into a drawer and pulled out her sister's clothes and tossed them onto the bed. "Didn't you sleep last night?"

"Not really." Jennan threw off her nightgown and quickly pulled on her thin undershirt, but before than came her corset. She held it in place in the front and said to Memnet, "Tie this."

Memnet grasped the strings on the back and pulled with all her might. Jennan had to brace herself on the dresser as not to be pulled clear off of her feet. Oh, how she hated corsets. They must be the most uncomfortable piece of clothing in the world. Jennan clutched the dresser and sucked in her breath as Memnet pulled again, and then she felt her sister tying the strings in the back. Her waist was already small to begin with, but the tightness of the corset made it seem even smaller.

"You should have seen how many times I had to tighten Beth's this morning," Memnet said as her sister slipped her dress over her head. "I'd say I had to pull those strings at least ten times. Beth wants it just right, you know. She has to have everything perfect."

Jennan pulled on her light-pink overcoat which came down to her hips and opened a little at the white collar, and then she reached under her bed and pulled out her shoes. It was the type of shoe that all the girls wore, a shiny black with a moderate sized heel, rounded toe, and etched design on the sides. She slipped them on and buttoned them up, then sat down in front of the mirror above the dresses and picked up her brush. She quickly began stroking her long black hair, and when that was done, held it back with a ribbon and pulled it up onto the usual knot at the back of her head, then pinned it in place. She picked up her perfume bottle and spritzed one time on her wrists, then rubbed them together and stood from the chair.

"I suppose I had better get downstairs before Misses Lydia gets impatient." Miss Lydia had been Jennan and Matayo's schooling tutor for as long as she could remember, and she had been Memnet's as well, and the middle-aged woman had always wanted things right on time. Dorobis paid her well to school his children, but she was not making as much money now that Memnet had finished all of her schooling.

"I'd say she already is impatient," Memnet replied. "And I wouldn't expect to eat this morning, because you don't have time. Miss Lyida is already down at the table."

Jennan sighed at her own laziness and hurried and down the stairs. Her tutor sat at the table with her fingers entertwined, and she looked at Jennan sharply. "I was wondering when you were going to come down."

"I'm sorry," Jennan said, and quickly sat down at the table. "I overslept this morning."

"So I see." And they began with the lessons. For the sake of chores and work that needed to be done, Jennan only had to do schooling every other day. One day Miss Lydia would come and tutor her, then the next day she would come for Matayo, and then the day after that Jennan, and so on. Sometimes she tutored them at the same time, but that was rare. Jennan was glad that she had learned to read and write, for she had met some people who had no idea how, and she would not have enjoyed being them. She was also very good at mathematics, but her penmanship was the best in the family. If Dorobis wanted an imporant letter written, he always had Jennan write it for him, because her writing was the most neat and looked the most official.

Jennan found it hard to concentrate on her studies that day, for she was more thinking of Link. She was debating with herself whether or not she should tell him her feelings. She very much wanted to, but when she imagined actually doing it, she became scared and thought twice. She knew he would not be mean or rude to her, but the main thing she feared was when he said he did not like her. Or maybe he would not actually say it, but she would be able to tell either way. And then the whole thing would just result in nothing but her severe embarrassment, and nothing more. But she did not want to pass it up and destroy any chance of him one day liking her in return. For maybe if he did not know she liked him, he would never like her. And then she finally set her mind on telling him today, for two reasons. One, there was there was a slim possibility that he liked her or one day would and something would come out of this. Two, another girl would have to be blind and deaf to not have an attraction to Link, and Jennan had already seen it happen with Beth. So she figured she had better jump at the chance before someone else did.

"Jennan," Miss Lydia was saying impatiently. "I do not know where your mind is, but I can tell you where it needs to be. Pay attention, girl. I'm not here to watch you daydream."

Jennan snapped back to the present. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just a little tired today."

"Yes, and something's on your tired mind. Now pay attention to your studies." Miss Lydia stabbed the book on the table with her index finger.

Jennan tried to pay attention, but her nervous mind was so preoccupied that it was nearly impossible.

**-O-**

After the frustrated tutor left, Jennan went outside in search of Matayo. It was no longer raining, and the wetness had already mostly dried up. She held her skirts up from the ground and took quick steps towards the stable. She spotted her brother outside chopping wood, where Link and Artos had done it awhile before, and hurried over to him.

"Matayo," she called, and he stopped in mid-swing.

"Is something wrong, Jennan?" he asked.

"No. Is Father home today?"

Matayo lay the axe on the chopping block and pushed back a few strings of black hair from his eyes. "He went with his men on a trading journey, with his broken ribs and all. He won't be back for a few days, and Ima says he's going to make the pain worse if he doesn't rest, but he won't listen."

Jennan was not listening either. She had lost her brother with his first sentence, and she turned back to the house hastily. "Thank you," she said as she walked away.

"Wait!" Matayo called. "What's the rush? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Jennan called back, and went around the house at a near run. She slowed down to a lady-like walk when she came in sight of the pasture, and saw just what she was looking for. Link was back to his job of breaking the wild horse Night Rider, and Jennan hesitated for a moment by the corner of the house. She tried hard to ignore the sick feeling in her stomach, but she knew that what she was about to do had to be done at some point, so it might as well be now.

She made her way down the small slope in front of her, then walked along the outside edge of the fence until she was just a few yards away from Link, whose back was to her and then the horse in front of him. It surprised her to see that Night Rider was wearing a bridle and standing calmly as Link pressed the bit into its mouth with his thumb and forefinger. The horse put up no fight; just opened its mouth to the feel of Link's fingers, and then clamped down on the bit once the boy pulled back. Jennan was impressed.

"Link, that's amazing," she said gently. Night Rider already knew she was there, but she wanted to keep her voice low just in case he spooked. But he did not.

"It is," Link replied, grasping the bridle with his left hand and turning to face Jennan. It was so like him to not take the praise for himself, but act as if this near-miracle had happened by chance. Jennan liked this humbleness.

She folded her arms and leaned them on the wooden fence. "You have such a way with horses. He's not even on edge."

Link ran his free hand over Night Rider's muzzle. "Henry tried to convince me that I was doing it wrong. He said if I didn't use a whip, I'd never get anywhere."

"Henry thinks he knows everything."

"I told him I knew what I was doing, and that a whip doesn't tame a horse. It just causes pain until the horse reaches subjection, and then you have no bond at all. He got angry and yelled that I'd break something, and it wouldn't be the horse. Then he walked off to go sulk somewhere, I imagine."

Jennan had to laugh as she pictured this in her head. It sounded just like something Henry would do. "Henry shouldn't talk of things that he doesn't know about. And anyway, it's obvious that you know what you're doing."

Jennan did not really know that it was unusual for Link to talk like this, or to use as many words as he just had, but he felt comfortable talking to her, for her knew that she would not put him down or criticize. He usually did not talk in such a joking manner either, and he wondered if she knew that or not.

Link said something to the horse in Hylian, and then Jennan realized that she loved the sound of the Hylian tongue. Though she could not understand a word, she could listen to just the mere sound and not grow tired of it, and almost said so before catching herself. That might sound a little strange.

"I've always lived around horses," Link said. Then he abruptly changed the subject with, "Did you see Rhashidi this morning?"

"No, how is he?'

"You would never know he was wounded if you couldn't see it. I don't think anything can get him down, or at least not for long."

"I can tell he's really tough," Jennan said. "He's always been that way, hasn't he?"

"As long as I've known him, at least." Link rubbed Night Rider between the ears. "He doesn't even think twice before throwing himself into a dangerous situation."

"I still can't believe he took down that mountain cat," Jennan breathed. She had gotten so engrossed in conversation that she had forgotten the reason she had come down here.

"You wouldn't believe how strong he really is," Link continued, oblivious to her thoughts. "I wouldn't want to be the one he was angry with."

Jennan was suddenly very curious about Link's past, and she had a quick and playful spark in her eye that Link obviously noticed. He looked at her questioningly, like he wondered what was going on inside her head, and she took a step back from the fence and waved him forward.

"Come with me," she said, a mysterious smile on her face.

Link laughed a little while he said, "Where?"

Jennan took another step backwards. "You can get back to work later. Come on." She waved him forward again, and after a moment of hesitating, he gave in and grabbed the top of the fence with one hand and jumped over in one motion. Jennan headed off towards the woods, and Link followed at a pace or two behind her. She herself was unsure at why exactly she was doing this, but she felt like talking. She did not want to be interrupted, and there was more chance of that happening close to the house than out in the woods.

She changed course suddenly, towards the stables, and slowed down a little to where Link caught up with her. "If we're going to walk, we might as well ride," she said, nodding to the stables. Then she turned to look at Link with an eyebrow raised and a smile on her face. "I know how to ride a horse fine, but you could always help me do better..."

"You want me to show you how to ride?"

Jennan nodded quickly. "You can ride Epona. I know you don't get to do that much." She looked around the corner of the trees and was glad to see that Matayo was no longer there chopping wood.

Link was satisfied with this idea. He did not get to ride his horse near as much as he wanted, and it was just like Jennan to come up with a good idea such as this. He had not been trail riding in awhile, and with a beautiful girl like this, probably never. The two of them entered the stables through the open double-doors, and Epona immediately nickered at the sight of Link.

Jennan laughed. "She missed you."

Link opened the door to her stall and fondled her flaxen mane as she pressed her muzzle into his shoulder. "I guess she's not used to being away from me for that long."

Jennan went to the stall of her own horse, a beautiful palomino mare. Everyone in Dorobis' family had their own horse, but Artos was always the one who took care of them. "I'm not sure exactly how to tack her up. Artos always does that."

Link left Epona and took an English styled saddle and bridle from their places on the wall. "I'll do it." Jennan had thought he would say that, and she watched carefully as he threw on blankets, put the tack in place, tightened cinches and straps, and finally handed the reins over to Jennan.

"You're quick at that," she complimented, and he shrugged somewhat bashfully and moved on to Epona's tack, which was Western style and up on the wall with the rest of everything else. He had her tacked up as well in a flash, and he stopped at the door of the stable to help Jennan into her horse's saddle. He used his left hand for her to step into, and once she did the other was on her back to steady her as she gripped the horse's mane and mounted. She was not in the mood at all to sit like a lady, so instead settled herself into the saddle like how a man rides, a foot in each stirrup, and situated her skirts over the horse's back.

"Thank you," she said to Link, and gathered the reins up in her small hands and watched with interest as he mounted Epona. It was one very smooth, effortless motion on his part, and Jennan could tell just by looking that he had been riding horses for most of his life. She also took note of how he and his horse seemed to nearly be one body of movement when they were together, and she found herself wishing that she could ride like that.

Link seemed to be feeling a little nervous; Jennan could tell this just by his body language and how he kept eyeing her. She could not tell what was on his mind, but she felt giddy and was not even sure what was on hers.

She kicked her horse gently and was carried out of the stable at a trot. Link nudged Epona with his knees and followed a few steps behind before catching up and falling in line beside Jennan. She guided her horse into the woods, through tall weeds and over few small logs before slowing her horse down to a walk and travelling parallel to the creek, heading up the slighty slanted hill that she knew would eventually lead to small waterfall in the creek if they walked long enough.

Epona fell in step beside Jennan's horse on the left side, and they rode on in silence until, to Jennan's satisfaction, they finally reached her favorite part of the creek, where she had sat beside the waterfall and talked with Link while he had worked. She pulled her horse to a stop in the middle of the round dark place on the earth where the pile of reeds had burnt down the night before, and looked out over the creek.

Link reined in Epona and looked over at Jennan with an eyebrow raised. "You already ride very well for a girl. But if you want me to show you a different way, I will..."

"Oh, I do!" Jennan exclaimed. "I want to have the posture you have when you ride."

Link grinned. "And how do I ride?"

Jennan thought for a moment before saying, "As if you were born in the saddle. I want to look professional when I ride. I know it takes time, but I'm a quick learner." She made her voice sound hopeful, and she really was. But honestly she did not care much for how she looked when she rode a horse; she just wanted to have an excuse to spend time with Link without being too obvious as to why she wanted to be around him. Then she figured that after today, it would not matter because she still had her mind set on telling him her feelings at some point or another.

"I can tell you are," Link said. "I just don't think I'm the best teacher."

Jennan thought to herself, _I could learn anything from you,_ but said, "That's all right. Please show me."

He finally agreed, and for the next two hours he gave her tips on how to hold herself in the saddle, when to loosen the reins, how to straighten her back without developing a cramp, how to feel the horse's mouth through the reins and tell if it was either soft mouthed or not, when to relax, when to tighten up, and so on. He would demonstrate his meaning on Epona, and Jennan would study him until she thought she had it all down, and then try it herself to either succeed or fail. Link had said that he was not a good teacher, but Jennan did not agree. He never raised his voice or got frustrated, and if she made a mistake he would calmly show her again how to do it right. She did pick up on what he was trying to show her, but mostly as he demonstrated she spent her time making eyes at him when he was not looking.

Link never moved the lesson out of a trot, but Jennan wanted to try at least a canter. She had never been on the back of a galloping horse before, and she did not think she was yet brave enough to try, so she asked if he would show her how to hold her gait in a canter. He hesitated for a moment, obviously thinking of her safety, but then gave into her anxious look and showed her. She repeated after him, but was having trouble with moving with her horse's quick steps and staying smooth, and she pointed this out.

"I think you're doing fine," Link said, and dismounted Epona. He threw her reins around a low branch of a tree and came to stand at the left side of Jennan's horse, who had stopped at the creek to get a drink of water. Link looked up at Jennan with a crooked smile. "Women don't usually have such an interest in riding. What makes you take to it?"

Jennan quickly looked away, down at the rippling water, and debated whether or not she should say the truth. The most natural thing to her at this point was to say something opposite to the truth to avoid embarrassment, but then she remembered the main reason she had asked him to take a trail ride with her, and she knew that he would never really know that she liked him unless she said so herself. "You like horses. And I like your company."

Link was silent for quite a few seconds, and Jennan was beginning to think that she had offended him in some way until he said, "I was hoping you'd say something like that."

Jennan's eyes snapped to his face. "Were you?"

He reached both hands up to her and said gently, "Come down." She swung her right leg over the back of her horse's neck and slid down off the left side of the saddle, where Link caught her with a hand on each side of her waist, and he let her down carefully to the ground. They were standing very close now, his hands still on her waist, but neither of them made a move to step away. Jennan still had a hand on each of his forearms where she had held onto as he had taken her from off the horse, and she was clutching around the leather guards on his arms tightly.

"Link," she said, swallowing hard and staring up at his face nervously. "I have to tell you that... I... I want to say..." She let out a hard sigh. "Well, it's... I... I..."

Link's fingers touched her stammering mouth lightly and silenced her. "Shh. I know. And I have to say that I feel the same way about you."

He was known for having trouble with words, but here Jennan was the one who had been stammering. She was very surprised at his last sentence and the honesty in his voice, and she took a breath to give her amazed reply when he suddenly leaned forward and his lips met hers in an open-mouthed kiss. Jennan quickly made herself recover from the shock of it and grasped the back of his neck with both hands, closed her eyes, and returned the kiss.

**-O-**

**Well, that was a long chapter, and it's about time I got it done. Anyways, at the end of the last chapter when I mentioned a death, I wasn't just pulling all of your legs. The mountain cat died! Haha! I just had to have a little suspense and make you think something awful was going to happen. So, I'd better get some good reviews here... or they don't even have to be good if you want to flame, just as long as they're reviews.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Finally, I got this chapter up. Sorry it took so long, I've been busy with school and stuff. Anyways, here we go...**

**-O- _The kingdom of Altea_**

Heavy raindrops fell from the black sky and pelted the outside of the stained-glass windows of the castle, and the wind howled outside in the darkness. The shape of one of the windows upstairs was illuminated and flickering by the light of a single lantern inside, and the orange glow seemed to be the only thing visible in the night storm.

Behind the window on the inside of the sturdy structure was a large dwelling, with a very thin carpeting of the royal colors of red and maroon over the smooth floor. To the left side of the closed double-doors of the room was a wide, four-poster bed with only the most finest fabrics of pillows and blankets, and the top, solid colored quilt elegantly swept down to the floor on either side. The room had only a few pieces of furniture and was very spacious, and at the large window that was in the far wall from the doors stood a lone young man surveying the darkness.

He wore a navy blue cloak of royalty that fastened with a jeweled pin at the neck and cascaded straightly down his back until it came within a whisper of the floor. There was gold and sapphire armor over his shoulders and chest, which was for the most part covered by the folds of the cloak but still visible. Under these he wore a short-sleeved, light blue tunic that was belted tightly at the waist and then fell loosely to the tops of his thighs, and then split upwards in the middle for a few inches in the shape of an upside-down _V_, and then there was the stitchings of embroidery along the bottom. Under that he wore black pants which disappeared at the knee, for his boots were knee-high with a thick white band at the top, then were a dark blue, loose-fitting material that went down over the shins and stopped at the bottom of the ankle at the wide metal buckle that clasped over the top of the shoes, which were still blue but a shade or two lighter, and the thin sole was an ebony black. His hands and forearms were clad in the dark blue of fingerless gloves that extended up to the crook of the arm. And from the leather belt around his waist hung the fancy sheath of a thin sword at his left side.

He was known as nothing but Prince Marth, heir to the Altean throne. His father the king was a lonely man who no longer had a wife and no one but his son. He had married again after the death of the queen, to a woman who already had a daughter, but then the second wife died after coming down with a terrible fever, and left the Altean throne queenless, but had left behind her blind daughter Anya. There had been debate in the castle for weeks as to whether or not the girl was to be considered a princess, but the king's advisors had opposed the idea since Anya had no blood relation to the royal throne, so now she was just someone else living in the castle.

But she was as close as a sister to Marth. She had always supported him in every decision he made, and she was the only person that he would take the time out to care for. She had been blind ever since early childhood, but now Marth was her eyes as much as he could be, though it was difficult when he had a kingdom to assist in running.

Now he continued to stare out into the blackness and ran his fingers through his bangs. His hair was a color somewhere between black and dark blue, and framed his face on both sides. His thick bangs reached down to his eyebrows, and then behind his bangs was a thin golden crown, which took the shape more of a tiara one would see on a princess, but either way it was Marth's blatant mark of royalty.

He had turned eighteen this year, and at a little over six feet tall he was physically and mentally ready to take over the throne, but that would not happen until either he was crowned king or his father passed away. Marth had no want for the latter to happen, and he was not in too much of a hurry to rule Altea by himself, so as of now he was content in waiting.

Lately the king seemed to have picked up a dreadful cough, but he was just as intent as ever on finding his son a wife. Pretty girls and women from all over the kingdom would consider themselves worthy, but Marth would express no interest and send them all away baffled. It was the same with the concubines. Marth's personal advisor, Gathan, had come upon the idea one day to bring in two lovely girls with thick facepaint for the prince, but Marth had refused to open his chamber doors and then ordered the girls away. The two of them had left confused and offended, and Gathan had been as well.

Back at the present, Marth was still standing in front of one of the windows, which all of them reached from the floor and then all the way up to the ceiling, forming a point at the top, and he tensed at the faint sound of footsteps on the marble floor of the halls outside his door. He was not in the mood to be annoyed tonight, or even messed with at all, for that matter. He was known for having a terrible temper if he let it get the best of him, and so when the prince was in this kind of mood, everyone knew to walk softly in his presence.

The heavy double-doors swung open quietly, and the light from the torch-lit halls flooded into the room briefly before the doors were closed agian. Marth could tell someone had entered before he heard the footsteps, and then he heard the familiar shuffle of a respectul bow, and turned to see Gathan in the middle of the room.

"Prince Marth," he said, bent over at the waist and holding a papyrus scroll in his hands. The man was in his mid-thirties and had thin, chestnut-colored hair and a dark moustache. Marth had formed something to entertain himself one day out of boredom, and that was to watch how close to the floor a subject would go with a bow. And he had discovered that Gathan always went unusually low.

"Don't you have other things to do than to bother me tonight?" Marth snapped.

"Forgive me, highness," Gathan replied humbly, and only now rose to a stand. He had been able to tell that the prince was in a bad mood just by the other's body language, and he knew that he had better choose his words carefully. He rolled out the scroll onto a small table by the window and ran his hands across the surface to smooth it out. "I found it to be important that you observe what I have here." The scroll turned out to be a map of Altea and the countries and kingdoms around it, and Marth absentmindedly stepped over to look. "We are surrounded by enemies on nearly every side. Doluna to the east and Hyrule to the west. The mighty ocean to the north, which_ is _considered an enemy in battle, seeing that it blocks off escape if one is needed."

Marth loosely clasped his hands behind his back, concealed under his royal cloak, and said flatly, "I know what surrounds us, Gathan, and I'm aware of what's happening on every side. My country has had battles with them before in the past, so what is it any different now?"

"Your soldiers are very mighty in strength and number," Gathan said. "But, highness, suppose these two countries flanking Altea form an alliance? The attack on us could be devestating, even if we were prepared."

Marth strolled away from the table and went back to staring out in the dark rain. "I've considered that before. What do you suggest?"

Gathan thought on this for a moment, and his pause was so long that Marth turned to look at him questioningly until the former said slowly, "Well, sir, there are only a few choices of things we can do. The first is waiting until we are attacked and hoping that our return fight wins us victory. The second is somehow forming a peace agreement with our enemies, which I do not see lasting for a long while. And the third would be forming an alliance ourselves with the one of them and destroying the other that is left."

Marth scoffed and shot a glare in Gathan's direction. "Why is there need for an alliance at all? You already said yourself that the king's armies are powerful in strength and number."

"It was the words of truth, highness, but it would not be wise to try to take on both kingdoms single-handedly."

"You have it set in your mind that Hyrule and Doluna have or will form an alliance, but suppose you're wrong?"

"We must think with strategy, sir. Suppose I am right."

Prince Marth turned back to the window.

**-O-**

_"I'm sorry, Link, but I have to go, for your safety and mine." Princess Zelda hugged Link around the neck tightly, and he knew she spoke with honesty, but he was confused._

_"Zelda, let me go with you," he whispered, taking her by the waist and pulling her closer._

_"It's far too dangerous," she replied with sorrow in her voice. "I want nothing less than to leave you, but I would die if something happened to you."_

_"But wasn't I destined to protect you, and Hyrule? I want to come with you."_

_Zelda pulled back to look into Link's eyes, but kept her hands on the back of his neck. "Altea is pressing down hard on Hyrule, and the wars must come to an end somewhere. I thought it was all going to be peaceful again when you defeated Ganon, but our enemies picked that time to cause us trouble. If it is not Altea it is Doluna, and my father says he and I must go into hiding until things calm down."_

_"I know. I'll go with you if you'll just let me."_

_Zelda's fingers tightened, and she closed her eyes and tilted her head down, her face now very close to Link's chest. "I want you to come with me. My father even agreed on it, but when I started thinking of the danger it could put you in..."_

_"Zelda! I've faced danger most of my life. Tell me why this is any different."_

_The princess was silent for a few seconds, then said quietly, "I would be responsible. Link, if something happened to you..."_

_"Don't worry about me. I'm in danger here too." Link indicated the land of Hyrule out the castle window with a small sweep of his arm. "You could be gone for awhile, and we'd be apart that whole time. Zelda, I love you, and I can't stay here."_

_Zelda let out a nearly inaudible sob. "I love you, and that's why I can't let you come. I'm sorry."_

_Link was running out of an arguement, for he did not know what else he could say to persuade her. He gripped her arms with his hands and made her look at him. "I would die for you. You know that. And what would kill me faster would be the heartache of being away from you."_

_Zelda sobbed again, and one of the king's soldiers appeared in the doorway briefly. "Princess, I'm afraid it's time to leave." He was gone in an instant, and Zelda and Link were once again left alone._

_Link looked at her pleadingly, and stroked a tear from her face with his fingers. She placed her hands on his shoulders and sighed. "Maybe I won't be gone for long." She sniffed. "Don't think this is our lst good-bye, Link. We will see each other again." They shared a long kiss, and then he followed her down the twisting stairs of the castle and out into the sunshine to the king's awaiting caravan of horses that would accompany them on the trip. Where they were going, Link did not know, and Zelda herself did not even know so she could tell him. _

_The king nodded to Link and mounted his horse, and he and the others waited as Link and Zelda stood at a distance and clasped each others hands._

_"I'll miss you while I'm gone," she said._

_Link said hopefully, "Are you sure you won't let me come?"_

_Zelda looked down. "I'm sure, but not quite sure if it's the right decision. Forgive me if it turns out that it wasn't, later in time."_

_"Zelda..." Link was once again at a loss for words, but then the princess hugged him tightly and turned to go join her father. Link's hand traveled from her shoulder down to her hand and held her there for a moment, each of them at arm's length, and then she broke the grasp and mounted her own horse. Link watched with the urge to follow, but was frozen motionless, and the princess soon disappeared over the far hill._

_He lived in a daze the rest of that day, and after walking home to Tarou Village, spent most of his time in the stable with only chickens as company. His sister and grandmother had tried everything to make him better, but he had brushed them off and joined the animals, which did not prod about his problems. Princess Zelda alwasy kept her word, but that did not mean she would come back. Anything could happen to make it where she could not, and Link was nearly sick with worry and dread. And as a few days went on, he only felt worse, and sometime in the afternoon of a lovely sunny day, he walked out by himself to the ocean and stood at the water's edge to breathe in the salty air. He was unhumanly depressed at Zelda's departure, and he suddenly eyed the crystal blue water with a new thought in mind. He had not been thinking much for the past few days, and this seemed to be the first thing that had entered his head since. It was not a logical thought, but rather an idea that he suddenly found himself acting on semiconsciously._

_He took a step into the water, and slowly continued on until it was up to his chest. He paused for a split second, then took the last two steps that submerged him completely in the beautiful yet deadly water. He relaxed and let himself go, prepared for anything that could happen, save for what really did. A hand grabbed the back of his tunic at the neck and yanked him to surface. Link coughed and spit with surprise, and felt himself being pulled back to more shallow water by a man from the village._

_"I saw you go out!" the man exclaimed. "What is it in your mind, to be dead when she comes back?" He knew the reason for Link actions. "Do you want to be dead when she comes? Well, is that what you want?"_

_And it was that moment, after a close brush with a foolish death, that Link decided he would find Zelda no matter how long it took._

Link awoke with a frustrated moan and shot up into a sitting position. He panted, feeling half drowned, and then discovered that he was in the dry loft of the stable on Dorobis' plantation, and not drowning. He calmed himself down and massaged his forehead with both palms. He had dreamed about Zelda many times before, but never like this. The dream he had just had was more of a flashback, for it was exactly the way it had happened in real life, two years ago. It shamed him to think of the foolishness he had almost given in to, and was thankful for the man who had pulled him from the water. He couldn't believe that he had acted so crazy.

Now he got dressed and slowly made his way down the ladder from the loft. He was unusually tired this morning, for it had taken him what seemed like forever to get to sleep the night before. Most of the time he just knocked out at night from the fatigue of the day's hard work, but it had not been that easy last night.

He took a heavy step onto the dusty floor of the stable and heard a whuffle from Epona. He looked up and greeted her in Hylian, "_Miare fala mazen_, Epona" and she thrust her head over the stall door in an effort to somehow reach him. He went to her and took her ears in his hands, giving them a vigorous but gentle shake. He had done this ever since she was a foal, and it her was favorite form of affection from him.

Something nailed to the wall on the left suddenly caught Link's eye. He took a good look and discovered a very polished, wooden bow with a quiver full of arrows hanging on a nail underneath. He left his horse and walked over to the wall, his attention now captured, and ran his fingers along the strong body of the bow. He had always been an ace at archery, as well with the boomerang, but the bow and arrows were what was in front of him, and he suddenly had the urge to test out his shooting prowess. He carefully took the bow and then the quiver from the nails they were hanging on and loaded an arrow onto the thick string of the bow. His left hand gripped the handle of the bow and his right pulled back the string as far as he could get it to go; just to merely see how it handled. He loved the feel of it and was sudden flooded with flash-backs of teaching his younger sister how to shoot an arrow, and he was oblivious to his surroundings when he heard a sudden thud in the doorway.

He was startled and jumped slightly, but that was all it took for him to lose the grip with his right hand, and the arrow snapped off of the string and whizzed through the air. He had somehow known the arrow was going to fly in the split second that he had had to think, and had luckily took his aim to the far wall on the right just in time. The arrow landed hard and embedded into the thick log wall so far that nearly only the feathered tip could be seen. LInk had pulled back the string as far was physically possible for the bow, and he had always been a powerful shot; fortuantely he had aimed fast enough and avoided hitting a horse.

All of that happened in the blink of an eye, and then he turned quickly to face the doorway, expecting to see someone who would try to punish him for messing around with the weapons, like Henry or Dorobis, but it was only Artos.

"I'm thankful I was standing out of range," he said, with a thin humor in his voice. "Suppose you had shot me? I would have been stuck to the barn wall."

Link did not know whether to laugh or not. "_Eimiki_, I didn't know you were there."

"So I understand." Artos had been holding a saddle and bridle, and he came inside and dropped them in a corner. "Just out of curiosity... did Dorobis give you permission to handle his weapons?"

"_Na_, of course not."

"Don't worry, I'm not making trouble with you," Artos said quickly. He still had not seemed to have gotten over his slight fear of Link. "I just wanted to know, because I thought it would be too unusual."

Link walked over to the arrow and attempted to pull it from the wall, but it was embedded too deep. "What's Dorobis going to say when he sees this?"

Artos tapped his chin. "I will tell him that it was me who was fiddling around with the weapons."

Link paused and then said quietly, "You shouldn't do that for me."

"Well, I feel that you've suffered enough at the hand of Master Dorobis. He won't hurt me for it, but I cannot say the same for you. So you have no idea what happened here, all right?" Artos grinned broadly.

"All right." Link sounded serious, but then a small smile broke out and he handed the bow to Artos. "Well, if you did it, you had better take this."

Artos practically guffawed and hung the bow and quiver back on the wall. "You had better get back to breaking Night Rider. And by the way, you're doing a wonderful job."

"_Gensae_... thank you."

"Yes, Jennan has told me a little about you. But only a little." Artos held his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart to show what he meant. "She seems to be very happy when she comes back from talking with you."

Ah, Jennan. It had been a week since they had shared a kiss, and Link thought that those few seconds had been a piece of heaven. It was like he had thought when he first laid eyes on her; she was like an angel. Or at least to him, anyway. He and Jennan had been making it a point to have one of their talks at least once a night, but it had been made difficult when Dorobis had returned from his trading journey. "I like Jennan," Link said, and then quickly regretted saying it. It could be a serious mistake to say so out loud; Jenna already knew he liked her, but what business was that of everyone else's?

"I know. And, unfortunately, everyone in the house knows that she likes you. We can thank Miss Beth for that, I suppose. Those two have hated one another for as long as I can remember."

Link was unsure at what to think about Beth's showing interest in him. He figured that she had done it just to get at Jennan, but he could not be sure. He had no interest in Beth- she was far too dramatic and annoying. And then he discovered that it was slight fun to have girls rival over him, but he had no intention of wanting to see it go any farther than it had. Jennan had already thrown Beth in the creek over the matter, and there was no telling what might come next. He found himself feeling shy and confused over the whole thing, but said to Artos, "I should get to work."

"That's the truth." Artos paused, then said, "Oh, and by the way, if you see Master Dorobis, it would be wise to steer clear of him. He seems to be in a terrible mood today."

Link nodded once. He made it a point to always stay away from Dorobis, but he appreciated Artos' warning. Then the two of them parted their seperate ways, and Link headed out to the pasture to continue with his breaking of Night Rider. The huge horse stayed out in the enclosed field because no one had been brave enough to try to lead him to the stables, or get him around the other horses. Link planned on attempting this soon, but knew that today was not the day. He was just at the point where the horse would allow itself to be touched and handled lightly, and accepted the bridle and bit, and Link was set on trying the saddle now. He had taken it from the stable, and when he got down to the pasture, laid it over the wooden fence.

Night Rider spotted him from the middle of the pasture and came walking over slowly. Link knew the way to gain a horse's trust. He blieved the most important was being slow of movement, calm, and sure of himself, to gently let the horse know who was in charge. The second was an old trick of taking a sugar cube or something of the sort and feeding the horse with every visit, which Link had done from the start, and all of this seemed to be working. He also had an unusual way with horses, and something like this could not be taught to anyone else; it was a gift for the person who possesed it, and Link intended to use it wisely.

The black horse stopped within a yard or so from Link and pricked up his ears. Link talked softly and beckoned the horse to come closer. He had the urge speak in Hylian, but knew that he was breaking the horse for someone else and thus had to use English. He had used both languages when working with Epona as a foal, and it had seemed to pay off in the end.

"_Kinash_, Night Rider," he said. "_Miana, pennu_."

Night Rider took another step, but then refused to come any closer, so Link went to him and ran a hand into the dark mane. The horse looked expectant, and Link took out a sugar cube from his pocket and turned his hand palm-up. Night Rider lipped Link's hand until he picked up the cube and sucked it away. He had come to expect this every day, and Link was beginning to think lightheardedly that he was spoiling the horse.

"You're going to be as gentle as Epona when I'm done with you," Link said on a light note. "I guess if Dorobis is going to try to force me to work for him, at least he picked the right job for me. Isn't that right?" He picked up the bridle from the ground beside the fence and slipped it over Night Rider's head while talking softly. They had done this the same way every day, and the horse had gotten use to it to where he did not even fight the bit anymore. The other people on the plantation were amazed at how fast the progress was going, but Link did not hold any pride within himself.

He gently pushed the bit in and then pulled his fingers back as Night Rider bit down. Link continued on with the usual routine, which consisted of taking the reins and leading the horse around the pasture a few times, and this happened without incident now. Most horses seemed to have a strange will to follow Link to the ends of the earth if a situation called for it, and Night Rider was turning out to be no exception.

The two of them came to a halt at the fence post where they had started, and Link let the reins fall and picked up the heavy saddle. He did not want to tie the horse to the fence while saddling him, for he felt that this would give it a sense of being forced against its will, and he did not want the horse to obey merely because it had not choice, but also because it wanted to of its own free will. This tactic of trust had worked with Epona and all the other horses Link had ever broken, and he saw no reason why it should fail now.

It did not seem to be failing. Night Rider stood still as Link hoisted the blanket and saddle onto the ebony, sleek back, but kept his eyes on the young man with only a slight air of wariness. Link kept his guard up for a sudden oncoming kick or bite, but was not afraid and certainly did not show any fear in the slightest. Link tightened the cinch slowly, and once everything was in place, stepped back to give the horse room to go if he wished. But he did not move. He just continued to stare at Link, as if asking direction for what to do next.

After a few moments of this, Link decided that it might be time for the next step. Mounting would be a dangerous move, but he had to try. What good was a horse that no one could ride? He stood at the left side of Night Rider and took a deep breath. Well, no use wasting time. He knew he would have to do this quickly, but not with so much haste as to spook the horse. He reached up and grabbed the mane and saddle with his left hand, jabbed his left foot in the stirrup, and swung his right leg over. He settled warily into the saddle, and Night Rider made a quick move as if he was going to bolt, and Link prepared himself to hang on tightly, but the horse changed its mind and surprisingly stood still. Link started talking softly again, and was still in amazement at what he was beginning to accomplish. He could not wait to tell Jennan.

**-O-**

Jennan had gotten word from Artos about an arrow embedded into the stable wall, and when he asked Matayo to help him come pull it out, Jennan quickly volunteered. It was Matayo's day for studies, and she was glad to be free and wanted to go outside. The blazing weather was finally starting to cool off, and she was just down-right happy. She had been this way for a week now.

"What happened?" she asked cheerily once they reached the stables.

"Oh, I was just messing around with the bow and arrow and made a mistake," Artos replied. As Jennan bent down and tried to pull the arrow from the wall, in vain, he suddenly changed his mind about what he wanted to tell her. He knew the secret would be safe with her. "Actually, Miss Jennan, forgive me for not saying the truth. Link shot that arrow."

Jennan, from her spot on the floor, turned and looked at him. "Link?" Artos nodded, and she ceased trying to dislodge the arrow. "Oh. He must have a powerful shot."

"He does. I saw him do it."

Jennan stood up. "But why?"

Artos laughed and told her the story, and when he was finished she was laughing as well. "Link is quite interesting, isn't he?" Artos said.

"Yes," Jennan breathed.

Artos grinned. "Well, if you want to try to get that out of the wall, go ahead... but as far as your father knows, I did that."

"I understand."

"I'll be right back." Artos left the stable, and Jennan was alone. She bent down again and tried to work the arrow from the wall, but it was lodged extremely deep. She swooned at the thought of Link's strength to be able to shoot an arrow that hard, and found herself distracted when she heard a noise in the doorway.

"Artos-" she said, and turned, but saw Henry. "Oh." She stood up and held onto her skirts loosely.

"Hello, Jennan," Henry said, but got no reply. Jennan found herself not liking the look in Henry's eyes, and she just blinked slowly. She was prepared to explain the arrow in the wall and say that Artos had done it, for she knew no one would be angry at him, but Henry did not even seem to see it. He walked over to her and stood awfully close, and she wanted to walk away, but there was a wall behind her.

"Excuse me, Henry," she said impatiently, and made an attempt to get by, but he did not budge. She glared up at him and changed her tone to "Move."

"Oh, Jennan, you don't have to be so bitter." His hand was suddenly on her shoulder, and she shrugged. When it did not move, she reached up and pushed it away.

"Henry, I have things to do. I would appreciate it if you would get out of my way."

Henry smiled. "I have things to do as well."

"Then mind your business and do them."

There was silence for a moment, which was broken by the whuffle of a horse. Henry was not ugly in the least; in fact, he was easy on the eyes, but there were so many other things about him that Jennan did not like. She now found herself getting angry and planned her next move when he spoke again, on a careless note, "You do know I saw you kiss that Hylian boy."

Jennan tried to keep her expression the same as before but found it hard. "What?"

"Don't try to act like you do not know what I'm talking about. I saw the two of you kissing by the creek sometime last week."

Jennan saw no way to deny it. If he seen it, he seen it. "And what business is that of yours?"

Now his hands were on both her shoulders. "Do you know that I could easily tell Dorobis, and what would happen to you? Or the punishment that would fall on Link... yes, it would be very easy."

She knew that nothing too bad would happen to her, but there was no telling what Dorobis might do to Link. She did not want to imagine, and continued to glare at Henry. "Why would you do that? You're dreadfully evil."

Henry laughed softly. "I won't tell if you kiss me."

Jennan suddenly wanted to throw up. She threw his hands off of her shoulders and stamped her foot in the dust. "No! Now get out of my way." She tried to pass again, but he seized her arm.

"Suit yourself then. Just don't expect to ever be kissing Link again. He probably won't live past tonight, anyhow..."

Jennan growled silently within herself. She had thought she hated Henry before, but this was too much. You tell Father and I'll... I'll..."

"Yes, what will you do, Jennan? Oh yes, nothing, for there is not a thing you can do against me. Now, it's a very simple trade."

"Henry..."

"Your part of the bargain won't hurt you. But if you don't, it certainly will hurt Link, now won't it?"

Jennan could not believe that she was considering it, but she felt she had no choice for Link's sake. "Suppose you tell my father anyway?"

"I give you my word that I will not."

Jennan had never really known Henry to break his word, but then again she had not really paid that much mind. "You're evil, Henry..."

"It's up to you."

She sighed heavily, then reached up with her hands on the back of his head and kissed him hard. The couple of seconds that it lasted was enough to make her gag, and then she pulled back quickly and let him go. "There's your kiss." Then she brought back her hand and slapped his face with all her strength. "And I hate you." He stood with a hand to his cheek as she stormed out of the stable.

**-O-**

Prince Marth had been lying on his oversized bed and near sleep when the echo of rushing footsteps sounded in the hall. He woke up quickly and leaned up on his hands as the huge doors of his dwelling swung open quickly and Gathan rushed inside.

"Your highness," he panted, and bowed hastily. He could not catch his breath, and Marth slid off the bed and came over to him.

"Say it, Gathan. What is it?"

"Sir," the other managed to say between gasps. "You... you must get the soldiers together."

Marth's right hand flashed to the handle of his sword that hung at his side. "The soldiers? Why?"

Gathan sucked in another breath. "Altea... Altea is under attack."


	10. Chapter 10

**I was happy with most of the reviews I got on the last chapter. I see some of you are actually following the story closely. Yay! Some things may be a little hard to understand, but please just try. And thanks for all the reviews.**

**-O-**

Link worked with Night Rider as long as he could until sunset, and then it grew too dark to really see what he was doing, so he took the tack off of the horse and went to the stable. The lanterns that were nailed to the walls were burning, but no one save the horses were inside. He lay the saddle and bridle in the lower corner and noticed that the arrow he had accidentally shot earlier was still in the wall. He wondered if Dorobis knew, and if Artos had kept his word about the untrue story he said he would tell. Link did not exactly consider it a lie, for it was to be done to save Link pain- if it was done at all, but Link had gotten to trust Artos by now, and he did not worry about it.

It was too early in the night to go to sleep, so he wanted to find some other work to do. He was not happy being idle and never had been. The only thing he liked to stand around for was to talk with Jennan, but it had been difficult to do so now that Dorobis had returned home. Link had always been short with words, but when talking to Jennan it was unusually different. He somehow managed to keep a conversation going, and he was now at the point to where he actually felt comfortable around her.

It was certainly no secret that Jennan had feelings for him, and she had tried to say so by the creek last week but had had word trouble. After Link had interrupted her and told her he felt the same way, he knew it could have turned out foolish. What if she had been saying "Link, I really hate you and wish you'd leave", and he had replied, "I feel the same way about you"? He could have made himself look very stupid at that point, but luckily she was saying exactly what he had thought she was, and all seemed to be well now.

He discovered himself looking forward to their nightly talks. They never seemed to run out of things to talk about, which was very unusual for Link, but if he grew quiet, Jennan would keep the conversation going and then he'd find something else to say. He found her company very enjoyable.

He left the stable and went in search of Artos in the twilight, but he was nowhere to be seen. Link figured he was probably down across the pasture in Dorobis' dwelling, and Link certainly was not going down there. Jennan had told him that Dorobis could hardly leave his bed because of his broken ribs, which had been made worse during the journey, just as Ima had said.

Link passed by the house, and from the dim light coming from inside the windows saw Rhashidi's form lying sleeping on the porch, Gelert sitting at his side. Link remembered the strict orders he had received to stay away from the house, but he did not care right now and Dorobis was nowhere around to see him. Henry might be, but Link did not worry about him. Henry had amazingly left him alone ever since Link had beaten him bloody when he had first tried to escape with Epona. He had been so intent on getting away that day that he wondered what would have happened to Henry had Dorobis and Minhan not separated them. Link did not like to think that he would have killed the young man, but sometimes he even found himself unpredictable.

He quietly stepped up onto the porch, keeping an eye on the window and hoping Dorobis was not inside, and bent down to Rhashidi. He laid a hand on the wolf-boy's shoulder and gave a gentle shake. "Rhashidi. Are you all right?"

Rhashidi sat up stiffly and moaned softly. In his overly deep, quiet voice he said, "I don't feel well."

Gelert sat there thumping his tail on the porch as Link put a hand on Rhashidi's forehead and felt for fever. His gloves prevented feeling temperature, but his fingers were bare and he could feel the hot sweat under his friend's bangs. "No wonder," Link whispered. "You have a fever."

Rhashidi's wounds from his battle with the mountain cat were healing up quickly, and he had been lucky to escape infection, but something else was obviously wrong here. Link had known Rhashidi long enough to know that the boy's immune system was very strong, and he was seldom ill. "Everything aches," Rhashidi said quietly.

The two of them had taken care of each other for the past two years, and it had made it easy to build their friendship. Link stood up and took a deep breath, then knocked on the door. If Dorobis answered, well, Link did not know what he would do to escape punishment. Probably nothing, for he refused to show fear to the man, and he did not want to cause a commotion. He just wanted to get Rhashidi checked over by Ima and get back to work.

He was relieved to see that it was Jennan who opened the door, and she looked surprised to see him. Her long, shiny black hair was not put up tonight, and it cascaded loosely over her shoulders and all the way past the middle of her back. It was trimmed at the bottom and had a rounded-off look, and rippled with small waves. "Link," she said, in the same breathy way she always said his name, and he loved how she said it.

"Jennan," he replied, after swallowing hard, and then he got to the point. "I need to see Ima. Rhashidi's sick."

Jennan's dreamy and soft look turned to one of concern. "Oh," she said, with alarm in her voice. She came out onto the porch and knelt beside Rhashidi. "What feels bad?"

"Everything," Rhashidi said quietly. "My head hurts." He kept blinking hard, as if he was having trouble focusing.

"All right." Jennan stood up and passed by Link, brushing his arm with her hand on the way into the house, and then returned a few minutes later with Ima.

"Rhashidi, you're sick?" Ima said, bending over the boy.

Rhashidi shrugged, and Link could tell that he was uncomfortable with being the one that everyone was looking at, and Jennan noticed this too. She turned away and stood at the edge of the porch with her arms crossed daintily, as if what was going on behind her was no concern of hers.

"Come inside and I will have a look at you," Ima said, and beckoned Rhashidi to get up. Rhashidi looked at Link reluctantly, and the latter nodded towards the door to show that the wolf-boy should go. Rhashidi stood up slowly and followed Ima inside, and then the door closed behind them, cutting off the lantern light that had been lying across the porch. Jennan and Link were alone now, and after a few moments of silence, she walked slowly down the steps, her skirts swaying, and continued on absentmindedly while looking at the stars. Did she want him to come with her, or leave her alone? Link did not know, but he followed her, leaving Gelert on the porch, and she smiled when he caught up beside her.

They were silent again as the walked slowly up the trail, and Link hooked his thumbs in the belt loops of his tunic and stared at the ground. Dorobis would kill him if he saw this, but Link was not in the mood to think about that. He would rather focus his attention on Jennan, who was still looking at the sky with a small smile on her face.

"Do you think Rhashidi's all right?" she finally said.

Link cleared his throat. "I don't know. Probably."

Link's words hung on the air and that was the end of that topic, and they continued on without saying anything. Link wondered if he should speak up, but could not think of anything to talk about; and besides, the silence did not seem to bother Jennan. She was so intent on staring at the sky that Link finally looked up to see what interested her so. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, but he saw that the stars were beautiful tonight and there was an enormous full moon.

Jennan stopped beside the stable and leaned her back against the outside wall. The stable was horizontal to the trail, so she was against the far side. Link stood beside her and waited patiently for her to speak again when she was ready, but she still stood with her arms crossed and her eyes focused on the sky. Her hair reflected the moon's light and thus looked even more beautiful. Link was not used to seeing her with her hair down, but he liked it either way.

"The stars are beautiful," she whispered.

Link relaxed. "Yes."

Night sounds followed after, and the call of a red-eyed heron sounded. A soft breeze blew through the trees and moved their hair, and Jennan pushed a loose strand of hers from her mouth with a finger. Link heard her sigh with content, and then he finally thought of something to say.

"Jennan, I haven't thought to ask until now... what's the name of this country?"

She laughed very softly. "You're in Carrickfergus. I suppose someone should have told you."

"No reason if I didn't ask," Link said good-naturedly. "I'm just used to going to different places and not bothering with the name." He leaned on his left shoulder on the wall beside her, and studied her carefully. Her hair swayed at the sides of her face, and her eyes remained on the sky. Nearly ten minutes of comfortable silence passed, and then Jennan finally turned her gaze to him.

"Link," she said slowly, "who is she?"

Link's eyes snapped up to her face. "What?"

Arms still crossed, she turned to face him. Her face held a gentle and almost sad expression. "There is a girl, somewhere, who holds your heart. I can see it in your eyes."

Link looked at the ground. How could she possibly tell that? Had he ever given that impression? He did not think so, and now he was unsure of what to say. "Yes, I guess you're right," he said slowly. "And actually, there are two."

Jennan looked away quickly and closed her eyes. She felt like a fool for having any expectation or thoughts that she and Link might have a future, even if it was a limited one. What a disappointment it was to her. There was not only one girl that Link had interest in, but two. She could not find words for the sinking feeling she felt, but saw no reason to say anything else about it. She had no claim to him.

"I see," she finally said, and sighed. She had not meant it to be audible, but she then could tell he heard it and wanted to pinch herself.

Surprisingly, Link continued. "One of them is the princess of my country, Zelda." He looked depressed as he said this, but then recovered. "And the other," he said, "is you."

Jennan's eyes opened quickly and she tilted her face up to look at him. Had she heard him right? "Me?" Her voice came out high, and she swallowed hard.

"Jennan, you don't know what I'm dealing with right now emotionally," he said. And he was surprised it had come out so quickly and matter-of-factly. He usually did not find words that easy to say, especially personal words, but he was nervous. "The princess is the reason I came out here. She had to leave two years ago because my country was under attack, and she went into exile and wouldn't let me come with her. I didn't know when she'd come back, if she ever would, so I set out to find her." He stopped only to take a breath, then quickly continued. "It's been two years, and your father's men just happened to catch me in the forest and drag me here. Now that I've met you, I don't know what to do."

He had not spoken in that many sentences in a long time, and Jennan was now staring at him blankly. Her mouth was tightly closed, and her dark brown eyes were wide. There was a very tense silence for a few minutes, and then she said quietly, "You're serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious." He cocked an eyebrow. "Did you think I'd lie?'

Jennan shook her head quickly, and her hair moved with the wind. "No." She tapped her two index fingers together and stared down at them. "Link, I'm in shock."

"Why?" Link put a hand to the back of his neck and gripped hard. "When I told you I felt the same way about you, I meant it. I'm just bad with words."

"Link... I wasn't expecting you to say that, that's all. But I'm thrilled that you did!" A shy smile broke out on her lovely face, and she blushed. "You wouldn't believe how fond I am of you. "I-" -she laughed-, "I dream about you. It's foolish of me, I know..."

Link grinned, showing straight, white teeth, and then sobered and took her by the shoulders. Even in the moonlight she could see that his blue eyes had such emotion in them, and his big hands tightened and loosened again over and over on her arms. It was not quite a massage, but close. "You don't have to dream about me," he said, with a note of passion in his voice. "I'm right here."

Jennan's hands traveled up his arms and came to a stop on his chest, just below his collarbone, and they kissed slowly. Link's arms wrapped around her, one around her thin waist, the other around her shoulders. She heard a small moan escape her own throat as she closed her eyes, and her fingers dug into his tunic slightly. She wanted to take her time with the kiss, if Henry was spying or not. At the moment she did not care if the whole world was watching, even her father. She felt so safe when this close to him.

Link's hands were pressing into her back, and she felt his hair brush her face lightly. Even if there was another girl in his life, she could not deny her strong feelings for him. But for a split second she wondered what match she would be for a princess, and then pushed the thought away. She did not consider this situation as a competition with another girl, and she certainly did not want to put any more pressure on Link. No way would she try to make him choose between them, especially if he did not even know where this Zelda was. She would always let it be the choice of his own free will, if it even ever came down to that. But right now she just wanted to concentrate on the wonderful present moment.

Link loved the feel of her small, dainty figure, so fragile and yet somehow strong in his arms. He was holding her tightly, but he was careful not to hurt her. He did not know his own strength, and thought it best to pay close mind to it. She was so small and thinly shaped that he could hardly believe that she was the same girl who had put up such a hard fight to the man who had tried nab her in the woods awhile back. Perhaps she was not as weak as he thought she was.

Jennan was the one who finally pulled back her head and ended the kiss, for she needed a breath. Her hands relaxed, and she laid her head on his chest as his arms wrapped tighter around her. She could feel that his breaths were deep and shaky. Was it possible that he liked her as much as she liked him? Or just because he liked the kiss? She hoped for both.

They stayed in that position for a few relaxed minutes, and neither of them wanted to let go. Jennan could have fallen asleep if they had been sitting down.She had never wilfully been this close to anyone, and she was loving every quiet second of it. She moved her lips and chin along the fabric of his tunic, then pressed her right cheek against his chest. She shifted her weight to her right hip, and her left knee fell between Link's.

Ima's voice suddenly cut through the moment. "Jennan."

Jennan and Link quickly pulled apart. "Yes, Ima," Jennan said. She was blushing madly now, and Link took a step back and looked unsure at what to do now. Jennan held up her hand to tell him to stay put, and she turned to Ima, who did not look accusing or even surprised.

"I must tell you all that Rhashidi is running a high fever again," she said matter-of-factly. She stood in the middle of the trail, her silver hair shining in the bright moonlight, and her hands down at her sides. "I have also disovered the reason for his hard squinting and blinking."

"And what's that?" Jennan said, clearing her throat shortly.

Ima titled back her head and shifted her eyes from Link to Jennan. "He is half blind in his left eye."

Link spoke up in alarm. "Blind? How?"

Ima shook her head. "The only thing I can fathom is the fight with the mountain cat. He's had something damaged, obviously. It's not going to get better, but at least it can get no worse."

Link was silent, then said, "Where is he?"

"I don't know, he wouldn't stay in the house for long and walked off somewhere in the woods."

Link massaged the back of his neck and glanced at Jennan. They shared a look for a moment, and then parted on their seperate ways.

**-O-**

The Altean castle went into hysterics. Prince Marth seemed to be the only one that was keeping his head, and he shouted out quick orders to different people, and had Gathan to get the soldiers together, and to move hastily. Marth left his chamber and nearly crashed into his step-sister Anya in the hall. He grabbed her arms to keep from knocking her clear over, and she seized his cloak at the neck and hung on tight, her sightless eyes wide with fear.

"Marth, what are we going to do?" she asked, her voice shaky.

"You're going to stay in here and wait. I'm going out into the battle."

"No!" She gave him a shake. "You could be killed."

Gathan came hurrying down the hall and said to Marth, "Highness, the king gave an order for you to stay in the castle and let his soldiers fight the battle, and I also advise that you do."

"I _am_ his soldier, Gathan," Marth said, prying Anya loose and brushing by her. He headed down the hall at long strides, his left hand on his sword, and then called back, "Stay with Anya!"

The first thing that greeted him when he got outside the castle was the thick smell of smoke and the shouts of men. The second was a heavy-built soldier with the name of Kiriath who was holding the reins of Marth's huge black stallion, and he gave a quick bow as the prince swung up into the saddle and took over control.

"Who's attacked us?" Marth asked shortly.

"Doluna, of course, sir," the soldier said, and mounted his own horse. "They're at the south gate, but have not made their way in yet."

"They won't." Marth yanked his horse to the right and headed off at a trot, flanked by a few shield-bearers and a dozen other soldiers who were also on horseback. Marth felt no emotion of fear because of the danger he was about to face; only a hard anticipation from the adrenaline. He did not think about the actual fight, for he figured he would concentrate on that only in the battle. He was incredibly skilled with the sword, and just as quick with it. He had been in hand-to-hand and sword battles before, but never in an all out war like this.

Marth drew his sword from its sheath. "If we die, we die defending Altea!" he yelled. The soldiers answered his strong voice in a loud cry, but no words could be made out. Marth lifted his sword high, and then the group rushed towards the south gate.

Marth gripped the reins and leaned forward in the saddle to urge his horse on, his cloak blowing behind him, and then caught sight of what was going on ahead. He could see his soldiers doing their best to fend off the enemy, who were trying their hardest to enter through the gate, and fortunately failing. The Altean army was putting up a hard defense and actually beginning to get the upper hand, slowly pushing the enemy back from the gate. Suddenly, the massive Doluna army drew back a few hundred yards. They did not actually turned around and flee, but moreso backed up until they were away from the gate and back near the burning woods. Were they retreating? Probably not so soon in the battle, and Marth clutched his sword hard in his right hand while his left controlled the massive horse under him. His shieldbearers were close beside him, and as he rushed out into the heat of the battle, he realized that being in such a wide open space such as this was to his army's disadvantage. They were somehow outnumbered, and the south gate and a high wall had been a protection for them, but now it was down to a free-for-all.

Marth swallowed hard when he saw some of his men go down, but that had to be ignored in battle. He was moving at such a quick pace that he came unexpectedly upon a cluster of Doluna soldiers, on foot and on horses, and put his sword to work. One neat, powerful swing took down three of them at the tip of the sword. It was made of the best Damascus steel, fit only for a prince, and was of the sharpest cut. The Falchion sword, his father had called it when he had passed it on to his son, and it was now Marth's greatest possession.

It made him queasy to see the blood along the blade now, but he knew he could not be weak. Death was the main part of war, and if he wanted to protect his kingdom, he must kill or be killed, and he had no intention of dying. He did not really look at the faces or expression of his enemies; he just saw a rush of men and horses, and classified them as two things, either friend or foe. It was not hard to tell apart which army was which, for the king's armies were all uniformed. Doluna was not a kingdom, just a country, and the soldiers were dressed nothing alike and it was easy to tell who was who.

Marth ignored the battles cries, the screams of death, the smell of blood and smoke in the air, and only concentrated on swinging his sword and hitting the mark hard. He numbly noticed the gory death of one of his soldiers close by, and then he swept his mind of all thoughts. There were no invented words for the horror he was seeing around him.

A close movement to the right caught his eye; everything was quick and fast-paced, but for some reason his attention focused on that one movement. He yanked his horse into a ninety-degree turn and blocked an oncoming attack with his sword. The sound of grinding metal filled his ears as he braced himself against the strength of the man on the horse beside him. The man looked evilly intent on the matter at hand, and the two swords seemed to be frozen in place, until Marth could feel that the other man was stronger and that he could not hold this position for long. Suddenly, the Falchion sword fell back, and the man's sword was coming down fast. Luckily, Marth could think as quickly as he could move, and he planted his weight in the left stirrup, rose up out of the saddle, and kicked the man square the shoulder, knocking him off his horse. He fell and disappeared into the confusion, and Marth quickly settled back into the saddle, squeezing his knees tight against the horse's side to keep his balance.

The speed of the battle was terribly confusing, but Marth somehow kept himself coordinated. One of his swordbearers saved him from an attack from behind, and Marth concentrated on avoiding his own men and taking down the enemy. Riderless horses were everywhere in the confusion, and the smell of the burning woods was stinging Marth's eyes and throat. He coughed hard, and that split second nearly cost him his life, but he quickly ducked down close to his horse's neck and barely avoided a sword to the back of the head. Death was literally at every step, but this fight must be fought. Altea had fought wars in the past, and never once surrendered. Doluna had actually taken over a few hundred years ago, but Altea had fought back for its independence and won. Marth knew that Doluna was a very power-hungry country and had their sights set on sweeping the entire land. They were aiming to rule Doluna, Altea, Hyrule, and Carrickfergus, but they had fortunately never made it past the fierce army of Altea.

Marth suddenly thought of Anya, and it gave him a new will to fight with everything he had. If something happened to her, he did not know what he would do. He was very fatigued, but somehow remained physically strong. Every slice or stab of his sword was deadly when it hit its target, but the Doluna army seemed to go on endlessly. He took a brief second to observe his soldiers and saw that they were fighting just as hard and ruthlessly as their prince. Somehow in the terrible noise, he heard a shout from his shieldbearers and quickly turned to see what was going on, but found himself struck hard in the chest. It was extremely good fortune that the blow had landed on the surface of his armor, but the force of it threw him clear out of the saddle. He twisted himself in the air, refusing to land the wrong way, and came crashing down on his hands and knees, landing hard on a patch of sharp rocks in the ground and feeling something crack. He somersaulted once and then slid for a few yards before coming to a painful stop at the bottom of a small hill. The battle continued to rage around him, and the ground vibrated with the force of it. He tried to push himself up, but when his weight hit his left knee, he unwillingly sank back down. The pain was nearly unbearable, and he ground his teeth and tried to see through the blood on his knee, but there was too much of it to tell what exactly had happened. He had to get up, and he just now noticed that he could not find his sword. He was trying his hardest to keep his head, and then suddenly he felt someone take his arm and shoulder, and he was lifted up. He whirled to put up a fight, but saw that it was Kiriath who was holding him.

"Take my horse, sir," the man quickly said, and he boosted his prince up into the saddle of his own horse. There was no time to say anything else, and Marth was about to continue on when he looked down and saw Kiriath holding up the Falchion sword he had picked up from the ground. Marth nodded at him and grabbed the blood-stained sword, and was off once again. He looked back just long enough to see the horror of Kiriath being run through the back with the short sword of a Doluna soldier. The blood that spilled had to be seen to be believed, and Marth suddenly felt a flame of wrath. He pulled the horse to a stop, then quickly turned around and headed back to his fallen soldier. It was obviously too late for Kiriath, and as the Dolunan man pulled his weapon from the dead man's body, Marth nudged the horse into a canter and steadied the point of his sword at the enemy. He ignored the rest of the battle that was raging all around him, and tightened the muscles in his arm as he came bearing down on the man who had killed Kiriath. The man looked up hastily, but was too late to move. Marth's horse did not even break stride as the man hit the ground dead. The Falchion was so sharp that it had cut right through the man without even pausing at all. Marth slowed his horse and turned it back around towards the heart of the battle. His sword arm was covered with blood from his fingertips to elbow, and it quickly soaked through his fingerless gloves, which had been blue until now. The thick feeling of the blood repulsed him, but it also made him feel victorious for avenging Kiriath's death.

There was no time for emotion right now, and hardly even for pain, but Marth was feeling his shattered knee badly. It hurt to move, it hurt to hold still, and it hurt even just to look at it, so he might as continue fighting. He would not stop unless he was too wounded or dead.

Someone either threw or dropped a burning torch, and Marth nearly had to jump from his horse's back to avoid it. It singed the horse's brown mane and then hit the ground and lit the grass aflame. Marth righted himself in the saddle as the horse side-stepped to the left to avoid the burning ground. The prince held tight to his sword, unwilling to lose it again, for this time Kiriath was not there to hand it back. A burning limb from a tree fell of and sent up a shower of sparks. A horse screamed in pain from somewhere on the battlefield, and Marth felt the golden tiara slipping over his bangs, and took a quick moment to push it back on. Something suddenly came whizzing from the sky, and he looked up just in time to see a barrage of fiery arrows heading his way. In the split second he had to think, his horse shied and he was thrown hard. He crashed to the ground, right on his already shattered knee, and he quickly covered his head with his hands, eyes shut tight and teeth clenched, as the arrows descended. He heard quite a few of them hit something hard behind him, but he felt no pain. He opened his eyes and turned around, and saw one of his own soldiers crouched behind him with a shield in his hand that was poised to protect the both of them. At least half-a-dozen of the fiery arrows were stuck into surface of the shield, and the man pulled them out and threw them away.

"You're wounded, sir," he said, as if was not an obvious fact. Marth was very grateful for what the man had just done, but he was eager to get back into the fight. His knee was hurting so badly that he could almost hardly feel it now, and he used the soldier as leverage to pull himself up. The man suddenly reached out and luckily caught the reins of Marth's black stallion, who had been trained for war and was not overly excited, and the prince was once again helped into the saddle. His left leg was basically useless at this point, but everything else seemed to be working properly, and that was enough for him. He felt a warm liquid running down the right side of his face and touched it with his left hand. No surprise that it was blood. He held his sword straight down at his side and took the reins in his free hand, kicking the horse into a canter and heading back into the battle. It seemed to have thinned out somewhat, but the people that were still fighting were just as vicious as they had been before. The dead and wounded were everywhere, and though Marth found it hard for his horse to avoid them, he tried to best he could.

He heard someone yell loudly, and suddenly the army of Doluna was retreating. They took what horses they had left and took off at a blatant run through the woods. Most of Marth's men went in pursuit to ensure that the enemy did not change their minds, and then the heat of the battle was over. There were the moans of the dying, and the fire in the woods still raged and was growing. Marth slid his bloody sword back into its sheath and leaned over his horse's neck, his hands gripping the saddle hard. He was suddenly feeling so lightheaded, and he hoped that he had not put away his weapon to soon, but there was no sign that the enemy was coming back.

He was suddelnly surrounded by his soldiers, and they helped him slide from the saddle and laid him on his back on the blood-stained grass. He felt someone rip his pants back from his knee and then felt pressure, and he let out a violent moan, but the pressure did not stop. Someone else laid their palm tight against the right side of his head, just above his ear, and he felt pain there too. He was bruised and scratched everywhere, and his hands were cut up from his fall on the jagged rocks, but that was the least of his pains. His knee seemed to be the main source of that, and he was suddenly overwhelmed by the entire situation and passed out.

When he woke up, he was on his bed in the castle, and felt as if he were being smothered. He rocked his head back and forth and let out a growl of discomfort. He opened his eyes and discovered that Anya was clutching her arms around his neck, and someone pulled her back. Her face was covered with tears, and then someone else came into view; his nurse. The woman looked at him closely, then gave him some water in a fancy glass, which he guzzled and then had a coughing fit. His throat was burning from the horrible smell of mixed blood and smoke, and it seemed as if it would never go away. He coughed until he was completely out of breath, then took another one and let out a yell when his nurse touched his knee. He could not move his left leg at all, and she was bandaging the knee through the blood.

"How are you feeling, highness?" she said.

Marth coughed again and then said hoarsely, "What do you think?"

She was too low in rank to reply to that disrespectful answer, but she did say, "I see that you seem to be yourself. Here, have some more water."

He gladly did, and then cringed as he felt her touch his knee again. A few soldiers and Gathan lined the walls of the room, looking very concerned. Marth did not think he had been in the castle long, for he was still in the same bloody clothes he had fought in. He focused enough to look at Anya, who was sitting beside the bed and wringing out her hands. He was feeling very woozy, and he laid back his head again and tried to focus on the ceiling, but it was not working. His semi-conscious mind drifted to the thoughts of the battle, and he started mumbling things that no one seemed to understand.

"You got Kiriath," he mumbled, "didn't you?"

The nurse and Gathan shared a look, then the nurse said, "He's delirious. Give me some more medication."

Marth put a bloody hand up to his head and felt a bandage wrapped around and under his bangs. Someone had taken off his tiara and sat it on the nighttable. He heard a sharp sob from Anya, but he was too tired to open his eyes again. He wanted to get these awful thoughts of the death and horror he had seen out of his mind, but he could not shake them, no matter how hard he tried. They would stick with him forever now, and little did he know that the pain in his knee would as well. He was not thinking of the future; in fact, he was not thinking about much at all. He felt another sharp wave of pain, gritted his teeth, and then passed out again.

**-O-**

**I was on the edge of my seat when I typed the battle scene- I hope you were on the edge of yours when you read it, haha. You know what to do now. For some reason the reviews on the last chapter didn't come to my email inbox and only appeared on the website... weird... anyway, review please**


	11. Chapter 11

A month passed, and the cool weather of autumn came. Dorobis had been taking many trading journeys since the start of the season, and there was a slight change on the plantation in Carrickfergus; it was starting to be somewhat peaceful to live there- somewhat.

The biggest and most noticable change was between Jennan and Link. They were blatatnly a couple now, and everyone knew it, save for Dorobis. Somehow -and luckily- word of it had not reached him yet, for everyone was a friend of Link's now, except for Henry, who would not tell for fear of Link and getting the blood kicked out of him again, though he would never admit that.

Beth had went back to her home a week or so ago, to Jennan's enjoyment, and had told them that she would come back sometime in the winter. She had taken Ness and her other slave with her, and Ness had left reluctantly. Link could tell that the girl lived a difficult life with Beth and probably had no friendly relationship with anyone- she was more than likely not allowed. He had felt sorry for her when she had left, but she had said that she would be all right.

Artos, Memnet, Jennan, Link, Matayo, and Rhashidi could usually now be found in a group when Dorobis was not around. Rhashidi always stayed at a distance from them, for he hated a crowd, even if it consisted of his friends. He was even more timid now that his sight was dim, and it had become downright dangerous to approach him on his blind side. He did not mean to be aggressive with his friends, but it was just instinct if he was caught off guard, and Artos now knew this well, since he had been the first to be bitten. His knuckles were still healing, and Rhashidi had later told him he was sorry, but Artos was still had a wariness of the wolf-boy.

They had all become familiar with each other of the past month, though Link was a newcomer to being part of a group. He was so used to being aloof from people that he had felt very out of place when the five of them had starting making it a point to hang around together. But now he felt more comfortable, because even Memnet had accepted him now.

Link had been chopping wheat in a field he had not known Dorobis had for the past few days, and he had turned his eighteenth birthday during that time, but had told no one but Jennan, and that was after. He had told her as if he had not mattered, and then she had light-heartedly scolded him for not telling her before.

Now all of them, save for Rhashidi, were at their usual spot at the pasture, gathered around the fence near the gate. They had started coming here because it was where Link had been most of the time, and thus where Jennan came, and then the rest of them had just eventually followed along. Memnet was sitting on the top board of the wooden fence, Artos had seated himself against the post below on the inside of the pasture, Matayo stood outside with his arms folded and leaning on the fence. Link lay back in the grass with a knee propped up, and Jennan sat beside him in a pile of her skirts, her hand under his head and massaging the back of his neck gently.

A few horses, including Epona, were grazing in the pasture. Night Rider was in the stable; he was now well-behaved enough to be allowed there. Link was for the most part finished with the breaking, but when someone else tried to ride, the huge black stallion turned difficult to handle, but not quite violent. Dorobis had gotten mad and blamed Link, but Artos hadIt' assured his master that it was the horse and not the trainer. Dorobis found every reason in the world to blame Link for everything that went wrong anyway.

They were all quiet for awhile, just listening to the whistling wind, until Matayo yawned deeply and tapped his fingers on the top of the fence. "It's going to be a bad winter," he said. "I can just tell."

"Isn't it always?" Memnet replied, smirking slightly. "I wonder if Henry's going to come down with pneumonia this year." That had been a yearly thing for some time now, and though it was not right to think so, everyone was glad when the young man could not talk.

"We'll have to see," Artos laughed. "He is notorious for that, though."

Link was not listening for the conversation, for Jennan was nearly putting him to sleep, but he quickly snapped to attention when he heard a deep bark from somewhere in the woods. He sat up drowsily as everyone looked back towards the trees. "That's Rhashidi." He poked Jennan in the side gently. "Your father's probably come back."

Memnet turned around and slid off the fence beside Matayo as everyone else rose as well. Link helped Jennan to her feet and then over the fence. It was too difficult to just open the gate, for it was rusted shut and could only be opened with great force, so everyone usually just climbed the fence.

"Link, you had better get back to work before Father discovers you idle," Matayo said. He was the only one of them that ever even remotely bossed Link around, but the latter usually obeyed because of their friendship. And because Matayo was not completely serious, for he knew it might be dangerous for himself if he was.

Link hoisted himself over the fence and then brushed the grass off of himself. He said to Jennan, "I'll see you later when your father's not around."

She kissed him on the cheek, and then he was off to the field. She watched him go for a moment, then turned and followed her brother and sister back to the house. Gelert was on the porch, wagging his tail as they approached, and Matayo stopped to give him a rough pat. Artos headed off to the stable to take care of Dorobis horses, and as Memnet opened the door, they were hit with a wave of the smell of fresh bread, and knew that Ima had been at work.

They came inside, Matayo last, for he was trying to work at being a gentlemen, and quickly closed the door behind them to shut out the cool air. Ima looked up from the fire pit in the corner and wiped a streak of ash from her wrist. "Master Dorobis is back, then?"

"Yes, we think so," Matayo said. He sat down at the table and stuck a finger into the cooling bread, and burnt himself.

Ima laughed. "That's what you get. Leave the bread alone until it's actually time to eat it."

He held his finger to his mouth as his sisters pulled up chairs at the table as well. Jennan was spacey, obviously daydreaming as usual, and Memnet looked as if she did not feel well. A few minutes later, the door flew open and banged against the inside wall. They all looked up as Dorobis came in and slammed the door behind him. At first Jennan thought he was angry because he had seen her and Link together, but he just sat down at the table and did not even look at her. Artos slowly came in the door after, smelling of horse.

"How was the journey, Master?" Ima asked carefully, and Dorobis grunted in reply. Jennan got up and poured her father a cup of hot tea, and he drank it slowly as she sat back down. She looked at Matayo, who was stroking his small beard and studying their father with interest. Jennan could not tell what her brother was thinking, and somehow that slightly worried her.

There seemed to a tension in the room, for no seeming reason, and no one spoke. Ima continued to rummage around by the fire, and Memnet traced a crack in the wooden table with her finger. Dorobis set down his cup hard, and some hot tea flew out and hit his hand. He ignored it and stared at the wall.

"Arots," he finally said, and the one he addressed quickly looked up at him with dark brown eyes.

"Yes, Master?"

Dorobis paused, then said, "I need you to take a journey out to Barrack. I have a message I need you to give my sister."

Barrak was a city somewhere between Carrickfergus and Hyrule, and Artos looked confused. "Why is that, sir?"

"You don't need to know that!" Dorobis boomed, and everyone was quickly silent. Jennan glared at her father out of the corner of her eye, and Memnet merely stared down at the table. "Just do what I say. And when you go, take that Hylian slave of mine with you."

Jennan scoffed silently at the title, and Artos said after a pause, "When do we leave, sir?"

"Early in the morning." Dorobis stood up and rearranged the folds of his cloak, leaving his steaming cup of tea on the table. "And I don't want to hear any back-talk about it from anyone." Everyone knew that by 'anyone' he meant Link. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a taped envelope. "Do not read the contents. Just take it and come back."

Artos took the envelope and hid it in a pocket behind his light-brown jacket. "Yes, Master."

Dorobis stopped in front of the door and said without looking back, "And by the way, I will be having use for the Hylian boy's horse tomorrow, so make sure that he takes Night Rider on the journey."

No one questioned this, but when the man was gone, Jennan immediately spoke up. "Why Night Rider? That horse is too unpredictable."

Matayo shook his head. "I don't see why Link has to go anyway, but I'm certainly not asking."

Jennan pushed her chair back hard and stood up. "I do beleive he's trying to break Link's neck. It makes no sense that Link cannot take another horse. It makes no sense that he has to go at all!"

"I just said that..."

Jennan ignored him and continued on her rant. "Father is just trying to cause trouble."

"Jennan," Ima spoke up, "I think your father is just trying to get Link away from you. A journey to Barrack will take seven days in total. It makes sense, anyhow."

Jennan shook her head and gathered up her skirts, mumbling to herelf, and headed upstairs. Matayo watched her from behind, then looked at Ima and shrugged. "It upsets her that much?"

For some reason, Ima gave him a sharp look. "Women are not as tough with feelings as you men. Leave your sister alone."

"Sorry." Matayo's gaze then fell to Memnet. "Are you all right?"

She had now laid her head and arms on the table. "Yes, I'm fine."

He shrugged and went outside, confused and annoyed at all three of these women.

**-O-**

Link woke up especially early the next morning, irritated and unwillingly. He did not think that it made any sense for him to accompany Artos on the journey, unless Dorobis wanted a bodyguard for his slave, which did not make any sense either. Link got dressed in the loft and groggily made his way down the ladder. It was barely even daylight outside, and though he had always gotten up early all of his life, this was ridiculous. He and Artos had packed for the seven-day trip the night before; it would be three days on the way and three back. Link remembered being in Barrack a year or so ago while on his slow search for Zelda, and had been ill-treated and now had no wish to go back.

But under the control of another man, it was not like he had a choice. And it was so early that everyone else on the plantation was still asleep, except for Artos and Rhashidi, the former coming into the stable and the latter somewhere out probably hunting. Artos had dark rings under his eyes as he came inside, and buttoned his jacket.

"It's too early to be awake," he complained, and grabbed his horse's tack from the wall. Link could see the other young man's breath, but was not as cold as Artos looked. After years of being in the elements, Link had toughened and was not much affected by the cold until the dead of winter.

"I don't think it's a good idea to handle Night Rider when I just woke up," Link said. "But I guess I have to."

"I'm sorry about all this; Master Dorobis sometimes thrives off of making people miserable." Artos entered his horse's stall and began to tack up. Epona was looking at Link with her ears perked up, somehow knowing that he was going to travel and eager to go. He felt bad for not being able to take her, and told her so quietly in Hylian. He patted her forehead, then picked up his sword from the corner and strapped it on. He had hidden it in the rock by the creek for a long while until now. He did not want to go on a seven-day journey without a weapon.

"Don't tell I am complaining... but I should still be sleeping," Artos grumbled.

"I should still be sleeping," Link said, yanking Night Rider's saddle from the wall, "and I'm not afraid if Dorobis hears it."

Artos yawned and led his horse from the stall. "Hopefully I do not fall asleep on the journey. I already cannot wait until it is time to rest tonight..."

"That'll be awhile," Link said, throwing on Night Rider's tack, carefully so not to spook the horse. He had opened up a little over the past month when it came to talking to other people. He used to stay quiet, even when spoken to, but next to Jennan, Artos was now the one he talked to the most.

Artos checked over his horse's tack to make sure that everthing was safely in place, then ran his hands down the horse's white blaze. "Well, whenever you are ready, we should go."

Link led Night Rider from the stall and then quietly slipped Epona a sugar cube. "I'm ready." He mounted the massive black horse slowly and gathered the reins in his hand. Night Rider was still not completely broken and shied easily; he had been spooked at seemingly nothing just the other day, and had thrown Link clear from the saddle and to the ground a few yards away. Link had sprained his shoulder in the crashing, somersaulting landing, but was quite fine as of now. No one but Jennan even knew that Night Rider had thrown him.

"We have a long day ahead of us," Artos said. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Or seven days, to be exact." He kicked his horse into a walk and left the stable. Link patted Night Rider's neck as a sign of peace and rocked forward in the saddle, but the horse did not move. Link had a lot of experience with horses and knew that getting frustrated would do nothing but make the situation worse, so he gently tried again and softly told the horse move. Still not the response he was looking for, and Artos turned his horse back into the stable to see what was taking so long.

"Horse being stubborn?" he asked, eyeing Night Rider warily.

"A little," Link replied, but was focusing his concentration on the horse. Of all the times that he had ridden him without incident, and now the stubborn thing did not want to move!

Artos raised his eyebrows and looked at Link sympathetically. "This would all be a lot easier if you could just ride Epona."

Link wanted to say 'I know', but did not. He dismounted and gave the reins a slight tug, and then Night Rider followed. Link was tired and annoyed but fought back showing it. He stopped the horse and mounted again, with a firmer hold on the reins, for Night Rider was not soft-mouthed, and gave the horse a kick to the side. At last, he was in command.

"I hope that horse doesn't do this frequently," Artos said as the two of them left the stable at a trot. "We don't need things to be more complicated than they already are."

Link suddenly saw Jennan on the trail from the house and yanked Night Rider to a halt. Jennan spotted them and waved slightly before rushing over. She held something in her hands, and stopped at the left side of Night Rider.

"Miss Jennan, it's too early to be awake," Artos said.

Jennan's eyes shifted to him, then fell back on Link. "I didn't want you to leave without taking this bread that Ima baked last night. But if you don't want it..."

"We want it," Link said with a smile. She passed it up to him, and he put it safely inside a saddle bag. "Did you get up just to come out here?"

Jennan folded her hands in front of her and rested them on the front of her thick skirts. "I did. And I wanted to say good-bye, for you won't be back for at least another week." She meant 'you' to be plural, but it was no secret that she mostly was talking to Link.

And Link could tell that she wanted to kiss him good-bye, but it was quite difficult when she was standing on the ground and he was on horseback, so he just leaned over and squeezed her dainty hand gently. "We'll be back soon enough. It won't be too long."

Jennan blushed and nodded, her thin fingers grasping around his hand. "All right, I'll be waiting for you. Be safe."

They let go and she waved as they started off, and Artos was giving Link a suggestive look with his eyebrows raised. Link ignored him and turned back in the saddle to look at Jennan. She was standing with her hands behind her, her head bent low, but he knew that she was still watching them. He lifted his hand in a motionless wave, and she slowly waved back, as if she was trying to hold onto him so he could not leave. But what Dorobis said went, and there was nothing else to be done.

She was out of sight when they entered the woods, and Link turned forward again and righted himself in the saddle. So far, Night Rider was behaving well, but there was no telling when the horse would suddenly change its mind. He knew Dorobis had made him ride the huge stallion purposefully, as if the man was hoping the horse would turn wild and seriously wound its rider, but Link had different thoughts. He believed he could control the horse if he tried hard enough, and he was intent on trying. There was no sense in dying before he returned to Jennan.

Link saw a movement at Night Rider's flank, and he looked back to see Rhashidi. The wolf-boy was looking up expectantly- for the past two years that he had travelled beside Link, this was his normal spot alongside. His ears were perked up as he stared intently at Link's face; if one did not know the boy, they could not tell that he was blind in his left eye.

"Rhashidi, you should stay here," Link said. "With Memnet." Rhashidi was known for hanging close to Memnet, for some reason.

"But aren't you travelling?" Rhashidi asked quietly.

"It's only for a week; stay here. I'll be fine."

"I know, but..."

"It's all right." Rhashidi stopped, and the horses continued on. Link felt bad for making his friend stay put, but there was no reason for him to come along too. After all, Link did not know what was in store on the journey up ahead. He did not want Jennan to know that he was slightly uneasy about where they were going. It was only Dorobis' sister, but who knows why the man made Link go along?

After awhile of silent travelling, the two of them left the large plantation and headed east. Link's thoughts kept falling back on Rhashidi, as if making him stay was a mistake. Link was very capable of taking care of himself, but Rhashidi was better than a whole pack of hounds when it came to protection. The handsome wolf-boy had very keen senses, sharp fangs, and the will to fight. Link knew that the people on the plantation wondered of Rhashidi's origins, but Jennan was the only one who knew, for Link told her. Princess Zelda had somehow come across Rhashidi a couple of years ago, and the boy had been in bondage by a couple with ruthless plans in store for him; Zelda had had him broken free, and in deep thanks Rhashidi had offered to do anything he could for Zelda. And after awhile of pondering, the princess sent Rhashidi to Link, for protection. And that was how Link and Rhashidi's bond had started, after the wolf-boy said that it was the princess who sent him, so that had been Link's sign that all was well.

Link had thought on this situation for the past two years and had come to the conclusion that if Zelda could send Rhashidi to Link, that meant she knew where Link was. So if she had not come to him, that meant she was still in exile. But of course, that was nearly two years ago, and it was unknown what had happened to the princess since then.

Link watched the many trees of the forest pass by, his mind wandering and nearly forgetting about Artos, who was riding close beside. Link leaned forward in his saddle, staring off between Night Rider's black ears, and reluctantly prepared himself for the week long ride ahead.

**-O-**

Prince Marth had been spending that month in recovery, but he did not seem to notice the time that went by. He mostly stayed in his dwelling alone, only allowing Anya, Gathan, or his nurse to come in, and that was seldom enough. He had always had a violent temper, but lately it had been worse than ever. Anyone who annoyed him suffered some sort of pain, thrown out directly from the prince himself, and most of everyone steered clear of him. It was the way he liked it, for he wanted nothing else than to be left alone.

It did not have much to do with his physical injuries; the bruises and cuts had healed away, and the split in the side of his head was gone, though sometimes he was still assaulted by terrible headaches. The physical thing that bothered him the most was his left knee, which had healed well enough, but he still had a hard limp in his walk and a continuous sharp pain, day and night. He had begun to ignore the pain after awhile, but sometimes it became unbearable to where he could not even begin to stand. His nurse had done everything she could for it, but now there was nothing else to do. She told him that it might get better in time, but it seemed to do nothing but get worse. It was a strange sight to see such a young man, just turned nineteen, to have such a bad limp. It interfered with his proud walk of a prince, and he hated it.

As if all of that was not bad enough, there were worse things that Marth had to deal with. He had thought he was tough enough to take anything, but the terrible mental images from the war a month ago were etched hard into his mind, every detail, and it haunted him like a nightmare. He could still even smell the horrible reek of the blood on the battefield at times. All of this had made him sink into a state of depression, and no matter how hard he tried, he could seldom think of nothing else. And even if he was preoccupied with other things, the horror was still in the back of his mind. At first he had felt foolish for not being man enough to accept it all, but then later discovered that it had nothing to do with being a man. One would have to be inhuman to not be bothered by the things he had seen. He had always known that the battles of war were bloody and terrible, but the exact details could not be imagined until they were seen.

His deep state of depression had pushed everyone away from him, even the king. Anya seemed to be the only one that would put up with him. He had once tried to tell her of the things that haunted him, but thought better of it; there was no reason to make her suffer with him. And besides, though she was only two years younger than he was, the blood of war was not a thing for women to be concerned with.

Now, on a dark and moonless night, he sat at his usual place in his dwelling- at the desk in the corner of the room, with the back of the chair to the wall and facing the huge double doors. He would write at times, sometimes trace over maps, but mostly he just sat idle. He knew it was unhealthy for his mind, but he felt that it was too late now.

He was so deep in thought that he was nearly in a trance; this actually happened frequently. His dark blue eyes would stare off at nothing in particular, and he would remain completely still until someone distracted him. It was like a deep sleep, but he was awake. And when he was alert, there were still things that annoyed him. Just the other day Gathan had tried so hard to get the prince to go out of the castle for some fresh air that Marth got so irritated after refusing so many times that he had slapped his advisor clear to the floor with one swing. And the thing was not suggested again. Under normal circumstances, Marth had a way of getting what he wanted. All he had to do was stare squarely at the person he was commanding and raise his left eyebrow- only the left and never the right - and somehow it just sent people off running to do his bidding, but that day he had skipped completely over that step and went to violence. It was wrong, he knew, but he was past caring.

And he was in such a terrible mood today that he immediately snapped out of the trance and yelled at the person who was opening the door not to enter. The door hesitated, but Gathan stepped in anyway.

"Highness, your father the king is requesting to see you," he said, bowing low.

"No," Marth snapped.

Gathan took a few more steps towards the desk, nearly grovelling. "But sir, I cannot tell him that you will not come. He is irritated."

"So am I!" came the yelling reply.

"Forgive me..."

"Get out," Marth growled, clenching his fists and throwing his gaze towards the dark window.

"Yes sir, but please come with me, your father is losing patience."

"Gathan! Get _out!_"

The man took a step backwards. "Of course, sir. But your father is going to be very displeased..."

Marth suddenly slammed both palms on the desk and shot out of his chair. His knee was giving him terrible pain, but if he put his weight on his right leg he was still fast enough to go after Gathan- and catch him. The man's eyes widened and he backed up quickly, taking off at a near run when he reached the doorway. The door closed with a loud, swinging thud, and Marth was once again alone. He sat back down painfully and flicked back his long cape. It cascaded across the floor when he sat down, it was so long.

After a few moments of lonely silence, both doors suddenly swung open and banged against the inside walls with the force of it. Marth was about to pick up a weapon until he saw that it was his father himself that was standing in the doorway.

"My son," the king said sternly, "when I give you an order, I expect you to obey it. I requested to see you at my throne, and Gathan told me you refused."

"Father, is it so hard just to be left alone?"

The king entered the dwelling and slammed both doors closed behind him. "You have been alone for the past month! Now, I may have given you control over most of my kingdom, but you do _not_ have control over me. You are still below me in rank, and you are my son. You may be able to act like this with your subjects, but I will not take any of this rude stubborness. Get up."

When Marth did not move, the king came over and grabbed his son, half by the back of the neck and half by the cloak, and pulled him up to his feet. The two of them glared at each other, eye to eye, and then the king spoke again.

"Have I given you too much authority, that you try to command even _me?_" They slowly moved away from the desk and towards the window, still glaring. "Don't forget your place, Marth. You are still under me until you are king. And I expect that it will be a good decision to crown you so." The last sentence was said very sternly, and Marth suddenly wondered if he was threatening his own position.

"Faher-"

"Do you want to be king?"

"Yes."

"Then watch your step, my son." The king's voice was more gentle now, and the long glare was broken. "Now, the thing I want to inform you of is the danger that is surrounding us. Doluna seems to be nonexistant since we beat them in the last battle, but we are now having close problems with Hyrule."

"Aren't we always?" Marth shifted his weight only to his right leg and stared at the darkness of the window.

"Yes, but it could turn very serious if we let it go idle for long. Now if you will get yourself into a thinking mind, I will ask your opinion of what you believe we should do."

Marth was too tried to think and he wanted to say so, but if he was to be future king of Altea, he must get used to this sort of thing. He sighed and called out, "Gathan!" The man, who had been just outside the door, came rushing in, bowing. Marth crossed his arms over his armor and barked, "Advisor, advise me."

**-O-**

The trip to Barrack was more uneventful than Link had expected, and the most interesting thing that happened on the way there was that he and Artos had gotten caught in a rainstorm and had had no shelter, save for a few trees. That had been unenjoyable, but at least it was something besides riding silently. Even Night Rider had been dull, which was really a good thing, but Link was easily bored. Artos talked of being saddle-sore on the beginning of the third day, but other than that neither of them complained.

When they reached Barrack at last, Link kept his guard up. The last time he had been here, a group of boys had thrown stones at him for no apparent reason, and he had been too timid to dismount and fight back. Now he kept a sharp eye out for flying objects, and if now if anyone messed with him, he would not just sit back or run away. He had changed over the past two years.

"I think we're almost there, at last," Artos said, massaging his own back with his free hand. They had arrived in the town of Barrack, flanked on both sides of the cobblestone street by shops and houses, and people would literally stop on the street to turn to stare at the two strangers. Link was beginning to feel like a spectacle, and he looked straight ahead in an attempt to ignore the people around him. He noticed out of the corner of his eye a man, holding a basket on his shoulder, turn and blatantly gape. A girl on up the road was trying to make flirtatious eye contact, but Link ignored her as well. A few dogs ran across the street in front of them and he felt Night Rider stiffen. He gripped hard on the reins and with his knees and looked at Artos questioningly. Link did fine at travelling when he knew where he was going, but now he had to rely on his friend.

"Night Rider's got all of his strength on the bit," Link murmured to Artos. The other looked over and saw that it was true; Link's arms were holding tight just to keep steady, and the horse was straining forward as if pulling a cart.

"He's nervous," Artos said quietly, "and I cannot say that I blame him. Look at all of these people staring at us."

Link took a moment to glance around the street. "They don't even try to hide it."

Artos suddenly broke out into a grin. "I like to imagine that they're looking because they think we are easy on the eyes!" He laughed and then nodded to the right and said, "Look at those girls over there; they are staring at you."

Link flushed and looked over at them, then quickly averted his eyes. There were three of them, standing at the threshold of a large hut with shawls around their shoulders to keep away the cold autumn air, and they were twisting handfuls of hay in their fingers, obviously to make something to burn. The one that seemed to be the oldest, a tall young woman with auburn hair, smiled and lifted her hand in a friendly wave. Link's hands were too preoccupied with Night Rider's reins, but Artos waved back.

Night Rider very suddenly lurched to a halt, and Link struggled to stay in the saddle. He quickly looked down and was annoyed to see two young men, each with a hand on the huge horse's bridle. Link gave them a dirty look and was about to tell them to let go of his horse when he realized who they were, and then he was far more than annoyed. Even after two years, he could still tell- they were two of the boys from the group that had thrown stones and tried to assault him the last time he had been in Barrack. No doubt they recognized him as well, for though he looked more of a man now, he had certain characteristics that were hard to miss.

As Artos pulled his horse to a stop to see what was going on, the boy on the left side of Night Rider gripped the bridle tightly and sneered up at Link. "Harrassing my sisters, are you?"

Link sat in silence, and he could feel the horse tense under him. An angry shout rang out, and the tall auburn-haired girl came over and grabbed her brother's arm. "Stop it, Lae," she said sternly. Her brother pushed her away and continued to glare at Link, who met the sharp gaze with one of his own, having no fear. Artos began to speak, then quickly stopped when he got a hard look from the other boy that seemingly had no name.

"Don't think I don't remember you," Lae said to Link. "You were here near three years ago, and why? You should be in Hyrule, shouldn't you?"

Now Link knew what this was all about- it had nothing to do with harrassment or sisters, but rather Link's race. He bristled, still not speaking, and thought on his next move. He was suddenly glad that he had not let Rhashidi come; his wolf-like friend would like to have killed one of these young men, or there at least would have been a bloodbath.

The nameless boy spoke up. "Well, are you just going to sit there or what?"

Link said bluntly, "Let go." He indicated his meaning with a nod to their hands, which were still grasping Night Rider's bridle.

The two boys shared a look and then grinned. The girl protested again, but they rudely told her to stay out of the way. The other girls, their sisters, were still at their hut with wide eyes. Link had a good mind to urge Night Rider on and tried to do so with his knees, but the hores would not move. If only the half-wild stallion would act up like he usually did, it would be a quick ending to all of this nonsense; the boys would move. But the only problem was, Night Rider would not.

"Nice horse," Lae said. There was something terrible in his voice that Link could not quite place, but he knew what the boys had in mind. It was quite common for someone to be robbed and then have their horse stolen, but would the boys try it in front of everyone that was watching? Artos knew what was going on exactly. Still on his own horse, he came over and scoffed.

"Leave him be," he said. "It's not even his horse, anyhow."

Link wanted to tell Artos that that was not helping, but a spark suddenly went through Lae's eyes. "A great for work horse, he would be." The two boys nodded to one another. "I think we'll take the stallion."

"What? You can be hanged for horse thievery!" Artos cried.

Link was not about to let someone else fight his battles for him. He leveled his deep blue eyes at Lae and said flatly, "You've got to get me off first."

The challenge was quickly accepted and followed through with; it was not hard for the two boys to get Link off the horse, for gravity was on their side. But once all three of them were on the ground, things turned to chaos. The street quickly cleared of pedestrians, and onlookers stood against the front of the houses and shops to stay out of the way. Night Rider shied away from the raging battle beneath him and was luckily caught by Artos before he could escape. Artos wanted to dismount and help Link, but he was nothing of a fighter, and besides, Link obviously had things under control. Even though it was a two-on-one fight, Link was bigger, stronger, and somehow faster than his two opponents. And he knew how to fight. At first Artos had thought that Link could only do battle with a sword, but those thoughts had quickly diminished when he saw what had happened to Henry for getting in Link's way. Now these two boys were facing the same fate.

Link's blows were powerful and always aimed at the right places; he was fast, but not quite fast enough to dodge two of them at once, and he took a fist square to the mouth and was soon spitting blood when he had a moment to spit, but which was not very often. He caught the nameless boy by the back of the neck and threw him to the ground with such force that he wondered if he had heard something crack. But no time for that now, the few seconds that one was out of the way was a good time to take on the other one. Lae was fast, and obviously used to fighting, but Link had had some changes over the past few years and was way too stubborn and headstrong to merely give in as he had done before.

He could hear the yelling of the crowd as his fist collided with Lae's tender stomach, then in an uppercut to the chin, followed by a quick smash across the right jaw. Lae was falling hard towards the ground, but Link was ruthless and did not let him even get that far in peace. A hard kick to the ribs sent the other boy sliding a few yards on the cobblestone. The crowd was yelling mixed messages, most rooting for Lae, but also some for Link. Even's Lae's sister was yelling out in Link's favor!

The nameless boy had crawled to his knees and had forfeited from the fight, his hands covering his face. But Lae was tougher, and he shoved himself to his feet and came at a mad rush towards Link, his fist ready to strike. Link dodged the first swing, then blocked and caught the flying fist in his left hand. He squeezed hard, heard a crack and then a cry from Lae, and Link's right fist came smashing across the boy's left cheek. Lae stumbled back as Link released his hand, then growled angrily and rushed foward again. Link moved out of the way as Lae rushed by, then reached out and grabbed the young man by the back of the shirt, whirling him around and then punching with all of his mind, one fist at a time on each side of the boy's already bruised face.

The crowd went crazy when Lae once again hit the ground, some angry and some glad, but the boy was not down for long. He jumped back up and took a swift kick at Link's shin, who quickly moved back, but not quickly enough. Their ankles hooked, and Link took the chance to twist to the side and throw and Lae foward. Link was not in the mood for the fight to last much longer, so he reached down and grabbed the other boy by the lapels, and once they were both erect, Link seized Lae's arm and turned his body to where the other boy's arm was bent, and the next throw from Link sent Lae across the Hylian's back and over his head. Nearly everyone could hear the breath go out of Lae, and the fight was apparently over.

Link wiped the blood away from his mouth and looked down at his former opponent in silence, his shoulders broad, fists clenched, and his expression serious and angry. Lae leaned up on his elbows and looked up at Link, who said nothing. There was nothing that need to be said- the previous fight expressed enough.

Link finally turned around to Artos and mounted Night Rider slowly. His muscles hurt from the fight, but it did not matter because he was victorious. He took one last look down at Lae, who was still lying on his back on the ground, Link's expression clearly saying, "I'm not like I used to be", but his mouth silent. He gathered Night Rider's reins, and he and Artos were off once again with nothing else said. The onlookers were silent, some obviously angry at how the fight had turned out, but Lae's oldest sister met Link's eyes and gave a quick thumbs-up.

Dorobis' sister's house was not too hard to find, and as they halted their horses in front of the hut, Artos said, "You fight like a wolf." It was obviously a compliment, but Link just looked at him for a moment.

"You have no idea," he mumbled as they dismounted and tied their horses.

The door to the hut opened and a middle-aged woman who favored Dorobis' looks greatly stood in the doorway. The three of them stood motionless and studied each other for a moment. Link thought the woman looked like Jennan, only older and not as pretty.

"Ma'am, I am Artos from your brother Dorobis' plantation," Artos said, bowing slightly.

"I know who you are," the woman snapped. She even acted like Dorobis. Her gaze fell on Link. "Who is this?"

"Also from the plantation, this is Link," Artos said.

The woman looked at him, and Link looked back without speaking. He was glad that Artos had not introduced him as a slave.

"Well," she finally said, "why are you here?"

Artos reached inside his jacket and pulled out the envelope. "Master Dorobis wished for me to give you this." He handed it to her, and she snatched it greedily, tearing open the paper and reading the letter, or note, whichever it was. While she read in silence, Link looked about the surroundings while holding the palm of his hand to his mouth to stop the bleeding. The woman's hut was surrounded by trees and chickens that ran loose.

When she was done reading, she kept the paper elevated but looked over the top of it, squarely at Link. She stared at him and looked him up and down, as if in detail. He purposefully looked away from her and shifted his weight back and forth uncomfortably. What was it with all of these females staring at him?

"Well, ma'am," Artos said, "if there's anything else you would require us to do..."

"Yes," she said absentmindedly, her eyes still on Link. She finally disappeared into the house and was gone for a few minutes until she came back out to the threshold and handed the same envelope to Artos, but the letter she had read was nowhere in sight. "Take this back to my brother." She was still staring at Link, even when talking to Artos. Link made himself look at her eyes, just to see what exactly interested her so much, but she was still just looking him over, taking in everything that there was to see. He looked away again but stood rigid.

"I suppose we should be on our way, then," Artos said. "It is another three days back to Carrickfergus. Good day, ma'am."

"Yes," she said, in the same tone she had used before. She watched carefully as Link mounted Night Rider, and Link found himself clumsy under her gaze. He gathered the reins and kept his eyes on Artos, who unfortunately seemed to be taking his time. Link wanted to get out of here but did not want to scramble over himself to do so. He nudged Night Rider into a walk as Artos came up beside him. Link began to relax, but when he took a glance over his shoulder he stiffened again.

The woman was leaning in the doorframe and still staring at him.

**-O-**

**What a creepy lady. It took me forever on this chapter because I've been real busy this week. Please review lots. Lots!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Good, good reviews, people. Kudos to you. But some of you are getting too smart! Haha, just kidding. It's great that you're paying attention to what's going on. I applaud you. But I guess I'll just have to surprise you at least somewhat...**

**-O- _Three months later_**

Jennan awoke on a cold winter morning in a bundle of thick quilts. She unburied her face and took a deep breath of the cold air. It was early, but Memnet was no longer in the room, and she was alone. She glanced up at the window and could see the snow outside, and she thought of Link. She felt sorry for him, having to sleep out in the loft of the stable in this cold weather, and though she knew he was fine, it still somewhat worried her.

She threw her covers off and got up, quickly pulling on her layers of clothes. The wooden floor was cold on her bare feet, and the very air itself was hard to breathe it was so cold. Ima more than likely had a fire going downstairs, and one fire was not enough for the whole house, but they only had one chimney.

Jennan pulled on her shoes and shawl and quickly put her hair up. She did not spend as much time on it as she usually did, for she just wanted to get downstairs where it was warm. She was still overly tired as she made her way down the steps, but did not know why. She yanwed and was glad to feel the heat from the kitchen getting stronger with each step she descended.

"Hello, Jennan," Ima said from over by the fire. Jennan could smell of breakfast cooking, and she was very suddenly nauseous. Ima noticed the unusual change in expression and said, "Are you all right?"

"Yes," Jennan replied. "I just feel strange today. I think I'm getting a cold."

"Oh, dear," Ima sighed.

"I'm going to skip breakfast today," Jennan said, eyeing the food on the table as if it were a deadly disease. She walked against the wall to avoid the table where the bread sat and got a glass from the cabinet. She reached for the pitcher of water on the baker's rack and accidentally hit the glass with her hand, sending it whirling to the floor and smashing into a score of pieces. "Oh no," she exclaimed sorrowfully, "it broke!" She bent down in the floor and began to pick up the pieces, but Ima bent down too and stopped her.

"It's all right Jennan, it's just a glass," Ima said, her hands, stiff with age, reaching and taking the tiny pieces from the floor. Jennan's eyes were almost watery, and she dabbed them with the back of her wrist. Ima glanced up at her and paused from her worked. "I say, Jennan, it doesn't matter. Your father can get a new one. Besides, there are others."

Jennan shook her head and pulled herself up, using the table as leverage. "But it broke..."

"I know, and it's okay. Like I said, it does not matter."

Jennan sniffed and after a few moments of silence changed the subject with, "Did Father leave yet?"

"Yes, a few hours ago," Ima said, her back to Jennan. "He will be gone for a few days."

Jennan's sorrow over the glass was gone, and she silently rejoiced- that meant she could spend more time with Link. Luckily, her father still did not know of their relationship. "All right, then. I'm going outside for awhile."

"You needn't go outside if you're getting sick," Ima warned sternly, but Jennan went anyway. She did not want a mere cold to stop her from living life when her father was not around.

A few months ago when Link had returned from Barrack, he had told her the details of what had happened, and he had emphasized on Dorobis' sister and how strange the woman had acted. Still no one knew what was said in the letter Dorobis had sent her, though they were curious to find out. Link had also told Jennan nearly everything that had happened on the trip, and she had been enraged at the boys who had fought with him, but she was secretly very proud that Link could hold his own- and that he did. He was quite a catch, she knew, and she loved to show him off, though there was no one really to show him off to. Everyone on the plantation already knew that he was her man, and she wondered how she could have been so lucky as to find him. Destiny, if that was even what it was, was so strange sometimes.

Jennan loved Link more than anything else she had every known, and probably would know. She knew he loved her too, for they had told each other a couple of months ago, and the strange thing was that they had worked up enough nerve and told one another at the exact same time, literally. It had happened out by the creek, their favorite spot to meet and be alone, and Jennan could still feel the surprise and elation she had felt when it had been said. And she had seemingly walked on air after that.

Luckily for Jennan, Beth had not returned to the plantation yet, though the rich girl had said that she would sometime in the winter. Jennan dreaded that day, but at least she would not have to fight her cousin again, more than likely, though she would if she had to. The last time Beth had caused trouble, Link was not Jennan's man- but now he was and Jennan found it easier to get jealous. But if Beth had any brains at all, there would be no feud this time.

Jennan grabbed her overcoat from a nail beside the door, lined up beside Memnet's and Matayo's, and quickly pulled it on as she went out the door and onto the porch. Memnet was sitting in her chair making wax for the lanterns as usual, with a blanket over her knees, and Rhashidi sat on the porch with his back against the wall. It was not unusual to see Mement and Rhashidi together, for some reason the wolf-boy thought it important to stick close to Memnet. Whether he had a crush on her or was just being protective, no one knew, not even Link.

Memnet glanced up from her wick-making and looked Jennan over. "Link's in the stable."

Jennan blushed. Even after a few months of being Link's girl, it was still somehow embarrassing for it to be talked about this way. Though Memnet had said it with seriousness, Jennan knew that a jest was somehow being made. "I thought so," she said, casting her eyes away, wanting to look anywhere but her sister, and somehow found her gaze on Rhashidi. He was sitting with his knees up and his arms lazily across them, and he stared up at her through the only eye he had vision in with no expression. When the weather had gotten cold, Memnet had miraculously convinced the boy to wear at least a shirt against the cold; one of Matayo's that he no longer wore, a crisp, white long-sleeved that buttoned up and then opened down the chest. It was only a tad too small for Rhashidi, for it hugged the muscles on his broad shoulders and arms, but he wore it anyway.

Rhashidi was still looking at her strangely, as if he knew something she did not, and she finally got uncomfortable and headed off towards the stable. She held her skirts up and stepped high to avoid as much of the snow as she could, but she felt some in her shoe and found herself unreasonably annoyed. She ranted silently to herself until she came upon the front of the stable. Gladly out of sight of Memnet and Rhashidi, she forced herself to relax and calm down. She did not want to seem irritated in front of Link; they had never even argued at all, for they got along so well that there was nothing to argue about.

The thick double-doors were closed but not latched, and Jennan slowly opened them and came inside, smelling the thick scent of hay. Link was putting down fresh straw with a pitchfork in Epona's empty stall, and he looked back over his shoulder when he heard the door open, and smiled slightly when he saw that it was her.

"Hi Jen," he said, tossing the pitchfork to the side and coming over to meet her. She loved that he had a nickname for her, especially because he was the only one who used it. He leaned over and kissed her tenderly on the side of her head, his hand giving her shoulder a quick and gentle squeeze. He pulled back and shut the door for her, and now the only light was shining through the glass window.

Jennan could not see how Link was not cold. He wore no extra protection against the elements; just the same thing he always wore. She knew his tunic was thick, but it was freezing outside. There could not even be a fire made in the stable, for there was nowhere for the smoke to exit the structure. But at least there was the body-heat from the horses.

"Father left early," Jennan said, grasping her shawl tight around her shoulders. Her blurry gaze was on the arrow that remained in the far wall- it would more than likely be there forever.

"Good." Link patted a horse's neck and then brushed off his hands. "Do you want to take a walk?"

Jennan grinned as her eyes met his. "In this cold? We're like to freeze."

"No we won't," he replied light-heartedly. He reached out his hand to her and looked expectant. "Come on."

Jennan could not resist him, and she took his hand. She had never really realized how small her hands were until looking at Link's, especially when hers were englufed by his. "Where do you plan on going?" she asked, smiling.

"I don't know," he said, and there was a flirtatious note in his deep voice. Jennan also liked how it sounded when his voice got higher when he was upset- which rarely happened, and she was glad for that part. She hated to see that.

They made sure to close the door behind them when they left the stable, and then they slowly walked hand-in-hand up their path in the woods. It might as well have been _their_ path, for they were the only ones who walked it and it led to their favorite spot by the creek, the place where they had had their first kiss. They liked to sit there and listen to and watch the waterfall. It was very relaxing.

Link let go of Jennan's hand and put his arm around her shoulder as they walked, pulling her close. She breathed in the smell of him and sighed. He was warm, despite the cold all around them. And she looked up just in time to be hit on the top of the top of the head by a pile of powdery ice crystals that had fallen from one of the tree branches above them. It had somehow missed Link completely, but it was all in her hair and on her forehead.

Link only laughed when she did, as if he was making sure she was okay- as if the powder could hurt her. He pushed her back gently and began brushing the snow from her hair, which melted at the touch of her fingers and mainly just wet Jennan's hair, but she did not mind. He suddenly took her face in his hands, and she was still laughing slightly. "What?" She held onto his wrist, just for the sake of doing it, and his expression remained serious, as it usually was.

"Nothing," he said softly. He gently laid his forehead on hers and his fingers ran through her hair. She was not uncomfortable in the least but was wondering why he was so suddenly looking at her this way. She trusted him, and her arms slipped around his waist. She kissed him firmly on the mouth, and his hands ran down her arms and back up again. His fingers were cold, but she hardly noticed.

He pulled back and grinned, then held her hand again and took a quick dash up the trail. She followed hurriedly, but he did knot keep up the fast pace for long. They came to the creek, and Jennan stood strangely fascinated at the lethargic fish in the icy water. "Those make me hungry."

She had to be careful saying that kind of thing in front of Link, for if she sounded needy or if she wanted something, he would get it, even if she had not been completely serious. It was sweet, really, and she was sure if she expressed that she wanted something impossible, he would at least try to get it for her.

"I'd get one if I had a pole and bait," he said. He laughed. "I can't get them like Rhashidi does. He'll just jump right in the water and catch them with his hands.'

"He's must be fast."

Link smirked. "Like lightning."

Jennan's eyes remained on the fish. They all seemed to be swarming together in one silver streak, and she had to blink a few times to clear her gaze. "Do you think Rhashidi likes Memnet? He's always with her."

Link thought for a moment, then said, "Well, he doesn't take well to people so easily, but I guess it's different with her. I don't know, maybe he does."

"They would look strange together," Jennan laughed.

"Rhashidi looks strange by himself... but I guess I'm not one to talk."

"Rhashidi's cute."

Link's mouth fell open in a fake gape. "Watch it, now. Don't turn me against my own friend."

Jennan looked at him and giggled. "I was just seeing if that would get a rise out of you. Rhashidi's cute, but not for me. For Memnet, maybe." She leaned up and kissed him again. "You're for me, though."

Link sighed, deep and content. "Good, because I was afraid I might have to get rid of Rhashidi."

Jennan rolled her eyes, smiling. "Don't get too jealous, now. I'm the one that has to worry. All the girls are always after you!"

He looked embarrassed and sheepish. "Not always."

Jennan's brown eyes suddenly went aflame. "And if my aunt is even after you, I'm going to have to hurt her."

Link cocked and eyebrow. "You weren't completely joking, Jen. What do you mean?"

She shook her head and hugged herself. "I don't know. My aunt is a very strange woman. And you know, I heard my father say something the other day about you and Artos going back to Barrack, for some reason. I wonder why."

"Again?"

"I'm starting to have strong suspicions. I want to find that letter that she sent Father back. It might help us figure out something." Jennan paused and felt an oncoming wave of fatigue, and she put a hand to her forehead.

Link looked concerned. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm just... so tired all of the sudden." She had never felt so light-headed in her life, and she wanted to just lay down and sleep. She felt a strange weakness in her entire body.

"Jennan?" Link reached to steady her, for she suddenly did not look well at all. "Jennan!"

She moaned, and then her knees slowly buckled. Link shot forward and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her upright, and she slumped over onto his chest. His heart skipped a beat with worry and he leaned over and easily gathered her up into his arms, one under her knees and the other around her shoulders. Her head fell back and she moaned again, only semi-conscious. Her breathing was shallow, and Link knew that he had to get her to Ima quickly. He went as fast as he could manage while holding her, taking long strides and sinking down into the snow. Her skirts and shawl blew tight against him in the wind, and they dragged against the snow in some of the deepest parts. Link lifted her higher and picked up his pace, sweating in anxiety over the situation. Jennan was no longer awake at all and she was now dead weight in his arms. Though she was very light, it wearied him to carry her over long distances, but he could and would do it.

He finally reached the porch, and Memnet and Rhashidi jumped to their feet when they saw them. Memnet gasped, "Jennan! What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know," Link said shortly. "Open the door."

Memnet threw down the things she had been working with and flung the door open. Link twisted to the side and carried Jennan in. Artos was serving breakfast at the table, with Ima and Matayo seated before him, and the three of them froze in mid-motion. Ima finally moved and pushed herself up from her chair, her silver hair swaying with her movements, and she hastily walked over and put her hand on Jennan's face, which was red from the cold.

"What happened?" Ima asked as Memnet and Rhashidi came inside and closed the door behind them.

"She just fainted," Link said, shifting Jennan's weight.

"Bring her to her room," Ima said, and they headed up the steps. Ima seemed to be the only one that was fully keeping her head; even Link was a little shaken. Memnet's forehead was etched into a worry frown, Artos had pulled back and stood against the wall to stay out of the way, and Matayo stood from his chair and gripped the table.

Ima would usually let Link come in the house when Dorobis was away, but he had never been up here before. At the top of the stairs was a space of floor, then a single wooden door that was not quite straight on its hinges. Inside was a fairly large room with a bed against the left wall and another against the right, a desk and mirror inbetween beside a window on the far wall. Ima pointed to the bed on the left, and Link lay Jennan down gently. She looked peaceful there, but there was obviously something going on that was completely wrong.

Her eyes suddenly opened a little, and she groaned again, twisting a little at the waist, and her hands went up to her face to push the loose strands of her hair back. Link leaned over to touch her, but Ima held up a hand and stopped him.

"Link, I need you to go back downstairs," she said, not rudely but matter-of-fact.

Link glanced at Jennan, hesitant, but Ima gave him a stern look, and he slowly turned and left the room. Ima closed the door once he was gone, and he slowly made his way down the stairs. Immediately when he reached the kitchen Memnet started asking questions.

"Is she okay?" she asked, twisting her hands. "What happened to her?"

"I don't know," Link said, and repeated more tightly, "I don't know."

"Well what-"

"Hush, Memnet," Matayo spoke up. "He doesn't know anything more than you do."

Link pulled a chair out from the table and sat sideways in it, his knees wide apart with elbows on them, face in his hands. Memnet was biting her lip. Matayo could see how tense with worry Link was, and he touched his sister's arm and gave her a look that said to stop talking. She jerked her arm away, independent as always, and hugged herself. Rhashidi sat in the floor by the table with his legs crossed, and Artos stood in the corner by the window with wide eyes.

They all had the same worry, though it was not the same for Link. He loved Jennan in a different way than they did, and he knew that if he did not get a hold of himself, both he _and_ Jennan would soon be down and out. Link jabbed his knuckles in his temples and tried not to think.

**-O-**

Nothing changed over the three months for Marth; he remained the same in his depression, if not worse. The conflict with Hyrule raged all around, though it had not broken out in war yet. It was more like a thing as if someone from Altea and someone from Hyrule met up somewhere, like in the town, hot words or even fists would fly. The rival subjects of the two kingdoms would also do things to one another such as setting huts and houses on fire, or kill each other's livestock. They were small personal battles, but those battles being everywhere took their toll.

Marth did not see much that he could do about it, save for to wage war on Hyrule, which was out of the question for now unless things got worse. He did not even feel like thinking on it and left most of that to his father.

To Anya's dismay, Marth was refusing food frequently. She told him he would lose weight and become too skinny for his own good, but he brushed her off, as he usually did everyone. But Anya was lucky to get as close to him as she did, for he had turned like an empty shell over the past four months since the war. She had overheard the king saying that it had been a mistake to let Marth fight in the war, but Anya silently disagreed. She knew her brother's (he was not technically her brother, but she considered him so anyway) depression was not only from the war, yes, mostly, but not entirely. There had always been this side of him somewhat, but it had been much less noticeable. She had never been able to put her finger on it, and since he was not talking much, there was no way to figure it out.

She took a tray of hot tea to his dwelling, feeling her way along down the hall with her fingers against the wall. She knew the castle well enough, but it was still possible to get lost. She counted doors until she found his, and she balanced the gold-plated tray in one hand and opened one of the doors with the other. She was the only one who could just walk into his dwelling without being yelled at or having something thrown at them.

Anya took a step into the room. "Marth?"

She heard him move at his desk, and he said, "Anya."

She closed the heavy door and felt her way in that direction. Her hand descended to the desk and she felt the fine hairs on his arm, just above his glove. She had never even seen Marth; she knew the basics of what he looked like, for Gathan had told her, but she could not place the exact details of his face in her mind. The only thing she knew for sure was his voice, strong, deep, commanding.

She gripped his arm for a moment, then took the tray in both hands again and sat it on the free space on the desk. He grunted to show that he acknowledged her, and she heard him pick up the steaming cup of tea. She was surprised that he even took it, for usually he refused everything brought by everything- save for her.

She heard him swallow, and then he said, "You came early tonight."

It was not unusual for her to come to his dwelling, for she thought that he needed to be around someone, or he would go out of his mind. Everyone else had seemingly given up on him, leaving him to his lonely dwelling, but she would not give up so easily. Marth needed something to bring him out of this state of mind, and though she tried hard, she knew she was not enough.

"I don't know what time it is," Anya laughed.

"Neither do I," he replied flatly. He tossed his bangs out of his eyes and set the golden cup on the desk.

Anya picked up the tray and held it flat against her thighs. "Do you need anything?"

Marth laughed. It sounded a little scary. "Yes, something to knock me out would work."

Anya swallowed hard. "Marth, you're not thinking... you're not thinking of hurting yourself, are you?"

He scoffed. "Anya, I'm not that foolish. I just need sleep."

Anya was not so sure that that was the truth, but she knew that his words were her cue to go, even though he probably would not sleep at all after she left. She turned towards the door, confused. _Oh, Marth_, she thought, _you need something. You need something to bring you out of this terrible state of mind that you're in. If only I could help you, my brother, I would. But if I can't, there has to be something out there that can. If only I could find out what it was..._

**-O-**

After what seemed like an eternity, Ima came slowly into the kitchen. Link rose from his chair and looked at her with a worried expectantcy, his fists clenched and tight, his mouth a concerned frown. He heard the others stir and come to attention behind him, and Matayo said quietly, "Is she okay?"

Ima stood at the base of the steps and faced them, but her eyes were on Link alone. "She will be," she said slowly, "in a few months."

Artos said, "Why a few months?"

Ima tilted up her chin stiffly, her expression hard and unidentifiable. Her gaze still pierced Link's. "Because. She is with child."

Silence followed, and all eyes turned to Link. He stared ahead at Ima and swallowed hard, struggling to keep his expression the same. He did not know what to say, but he heard Matayo mumble something inaudible. Link took a step towards the stairs, but Ima stepped in front of him and he had stop quickly to avoid running into her and knocking her clear to the floor. Her eyes were piercing, but she said nothing nasty, only, "Leave her alone for now, she needs to rest for awhile."

Memnet spoke up, her voice tight. "Link, don't you have some sort of work to do?" In other words, she was telling him to get out. He knew he deserved more harshness than he was getting, but he felt a twinge of anger and spite.

"Memnet-" he began harshly, but Ima interrupted the oncoming arguement quickly.

"Stop it," she demanded. "This is not helping anything at all."

Link had not really noticed Matayo in the corner until the young man suddenly sprang to his feet and slapped both palms on the table. "Link, get out!" he barked. None of them had ever seen Matayo this worked up before, and Memnet looked at him as if he were crazy. Link did not know what to do, for he was not sure if Matayo would back up his command or not.

Ima scolded, "Matayo." But Matayo suddenly shot forward and snatched Link by the tunic, and the latter was forced to step back hard against the wall. Rhashidi jumped up from the floor with a growl in his throat, and then Link and Matayo were in a short wrestling match. Link did not want to fight his friend; he just wanted to protect himself. Matayo had Link's shoulders and was proceeding to give him a hard shake, and Link's hands were gripped hard around Matayo's wrists to hold him back. And just as Rhashidi was about to spring into it, Ima stepped forward and grabbed Matayo by the arms. She did not have to use much strength, for when Matayo felt her touch, he let go of Link and stepped back angrily.

"Stop this, right now," Ima said harshly. "Link, Rhashidi- both of you go out of here." She glared at Matayo for the violence he had just played out, and then she looked back at the ones she addressed. Link knew why he and Rhashidi were being ushered out; they were the two strangers here. He grabbed Rhashidi by the back of the shirt and reluctantly led him out the front door.

Awhile later, Memnet went upstairs to the room she shared with her sister and opened the door slowly. It was mostly dark inside, and Jennan was obviously sleeping. Memnet pulled the chair from the dresser to over beside the bed and sat down. She was confused and disappointed in her sister, and she did not know what she was going to say. What _could _she say? There was nothing to be done now.

To Memnet, the situation was surprising, though not fully unexpected. There had been a few times when Jennan had not been in the house when she should have been, and Mement had had suspicions. She had tried to tell herself that it was none of her business, but in a way it was. Jennan was her sister. A sister who had made a few very stupid decisions, but nevertheless.

Memnet was unsure at what Jennan's opinion on all of this was. Of course it should have been a possibility, but was it a curse or a blessing to Jennan now? Did she want to be pregnant, not want to be, or did she not care either way? Memnet was dying to find out, but there was no way to ask how she wanted to.

Jennan moved slightly, then stretched and sighed a wakeful sigh. "Memnet," she said with the heaviness of sleep in her voice, seeing her sister in the light from the window. She sat up and yawned again, a hand to her mouth. Well, she did not seem upset.

"Are you all right now?" Memnet asked. "You fainted earlier."

"I remember," Jennan said.

"No wonder you fainted." Memnet bit her lip. "Did Ima tell you?"

"She told me." Jennan traced a stitching in her quilt with her fingernail. "I kind of suspected it anyway."

Memnet swallowed. "Link?"

Jennan looked away. "Who else?"

"Jennan, I hope you know that I can't believe this, and everyone's very disappointed," Mement said. "Jennan- why?"

"I love him, Memnet."

"I know you do, but that's not an excuse." Memnet sighed. "Anyway, I'm sure you already know all of this. There's not much sense in telling you, it's too late now." She blinked hard. _Someone's going to die when Father finds this out, _she thought, and she knew that, quite frighteningly, it may be true.

**-O-**

Late that night a calm and silent snow began to fall to the already white, glistening earth. Dorobis had returned from trading early and was off in the lantern-lit stables with Henry. Link stood by the outside of wall beside the porch, quiet and alone in the cold. Earlier, he had had no other choice but to get to work, but now it was all done with and he wanted to know how Jennan was; he had heard nothing from no one the entire day, save for what he had been told that morning.

The world around him was black as pitch, but the snow was pale against the dark background. The half-moon, a soft halo that was just barely visible around it, was mostly hidden behind the spitting grey clouds. He was stiff and cold, but his attention was focused on what was going on inside the house. He could see through the foggy window; Memnet sat at her usual spot at the table, Artos was stoking the fire, Ima was again making wick, and Jennan sat in a wooden chair against the wall to the left of the room, between the front door and the stairs. She wore a crisp white shirt that hugged her small frame and a long, layered skirt, green with plaid squares, that touched the floor. The fire raged inside, and the shadows danced on the walls as the flames moved. Link made sure to stay out of sight of them, for he was not quite sure how the others were going to react to him now.

A noise far off behind him caught his attention, and he finally identified it as quick footsteps in the snow, heading towards the house. He went to the left side of the structure beside Ima's dwelling, in the shadows, and saw the figure of Dorobis approaching, dark against the white snow. The man was taking long, hasty strides, and sinking with each step. Link pressed his back against the outside wall, his palms flat on the wood and his head tilted to keep his eyes on Dorobis. Link leaned to his left slightly to see around the corner of the house, silent as a leopard on the snow, his gaze tight and serious as always, his breathing shallow. He felt a chill, and if it was from the cold or the way Dorobis was walking angrily, he did not know, but he was suddenly and for no seeming reason terribly on edge. He felt his heart pounding in his chest, not from fear, but rather- what was it, exactly? Anticipation, perhaps. Something was not right.

Link kept his feet planted in the snow, his leather boots damp on the outside, but leaned back farther into the shadows as Dorobis stamped up onto the porch. Snow flew everywhere as the man crossed to the door in two long steps, and the door opened and then crashed shut after he went inside. Link, still pressed against the outside wall, stared hard at the snowy ground in front of him, his eyes narrow, listening. The walls of the house were thick, but he had keen hearing and could get an idea of what was going on inside. Level voices suddenly turned shrill and loud, and Link's heart beat faster as he shot off silently around the front of the porch and back to the window. He bent low, his hands gripping the windowsill, and peered in. It was hard to see through the fogged glass, but he could see enough. Everything was happening so quickly, but somehow it seemed as if it were all in slow motion.

Dorobis was furious- that was easy to tell- and he suddenly lurched forward and grabbed Jennan by the shoulders, lifted her clear from the chair, and gave her a hard shake, yelling in her face as he did so. Link tensed and stopped breathing. Jennan tried to free herself from her father's grasp, but the more she protested, the harder he shook her and the louder he yelled. Matayo burst from his room and tried to stop Dorobis, but the man warned his son off with a sharp word, and Matayo stepped back in fear and shock. How could Dorobis have found out that Jennan was with child? Link stood stiffly and slowly, a flame of anger burning in his chest and near ready to consume him completely. Yes, he and Jennan had made mistakes, and yes, there was a consequence, but for Dorobis to turn his anger to violence upon Jennan! Link was not sure what to do for a moment.

He could make out a few words from Jennan as she braced herself against Dorobis' strength. "You are hurting me! Father, stop!"

And Dorobis stopped shaking her and slapped her hard. Her hand shot to her face and her head tilted down, shoulders shaking. For a brief moment Link lost all thoughts of sanity, and it seemed as if someone else was controlling him. He lept up onto the porch with a loud thud, and in the space of time it takes to blink an eye, had braced himself slightly on the doorframe and kicked in the door. The lock had snapped with no hesitation, and the wooden door flew open and slammed against the inside wall, surprisingly still on its hinges, so much was the force he had used. Everyone quickly looked up at him, but he did not stand still long enough for them to get a look. Just as Dorobis dropped Jennan and turned to throw his rage upon Link, the Hylian boy whipped the Master Sword from its sheath with a metallic swish, and then the tip of the blade was only inches from the man's throat. Link stood in front of Jennan, his left arm out at full length and his body turned to the side, the sword straight and steady in his hand.

Everything grew silent, and the air seemed to suck from the room. Jennan sat on the floor just behind Link with her hand still to her face. Memnet was frozen in mid-move, half raised from her chair with both hands on the table to support herself. Artos was frozen as well, with the poker to the fire still in his hand, hanging down hot at his side. Ima's hand was over her mouth and her eyes wide.

Link met Dorobis' hard and angry gaze with one of his own. The two of them stared at each other, the older man unable to move unless he wanted the blade in his throat. Dorobis' dark eyes ran down the length of the sword, all the way to the deadly point below his chin. Then his smoldering eyes flashed back up to Link's with an expression of rage- and frustration for being at his own slave's mercy.

Finally, the immense and terrible silence was broken by Dorobis. "You had better be glad that you have that sword right now, boy," he said slowly, "or otherwise you would be a dead man."

Link's grip tightened on the blue handle of the weapon, his eyebrows etched hard. "You will be a dead man if you touch Jennan in that way again."

"Now you threaten me?" The man's eyes flamed. "Over my own daughter? Besides, I should have you killed for the way _you_ touched her; just look at the result of it."

Link's eyes narrowed. "Whip me if you want, but don't hurt her."

A small laugh escaped Dorobis, though he was careful to keep still. "I do not need a slave's permission to do anything. And if you have not noticed, that is all you are- a slave."

Still no one moved an inch. "I know what you consider me as," Link boldly, "but I've never cared what people have thought of me, and I don't now." His eyes shifted in Jennan's direction. "Save for the people I love."

"You do not love her."

"I do," Link stated.

"You are unconvincing."

Link turned the sword only slightly in his hand, the deadly point barely moving closer to the man at the end of it. "As long as she knows it, that's all that matters. I don't have to argue it with you."

Dorobis tilted back his chin, as if daring Link to drive in the blade. "You could not kill me, anyhow."

"And why couldn't I? What's stopping me?"

Dorobis grinned mockingly. "What is it that you are called, back in your land? The Hero of Time, is it? Destined to save Hyrule? Pure of heart, always thinking of others before thinking of himself. 'The left-handed hero'. Or at least that is as they say."

Link remembered telling that once to Jennan, the things the people of Hyrule had said about him. "It is just what they say" he had told her humbly. Now he tightened his expression and tilted his head down with only the slightest of movements, his eyes still on the man before him.

"You see, I know quite a lot about you," Dorobis taunted. "You have told nearly everything about yourself to my daughter... as well as to Henry."

So that was how Dorobis had found out so quickly. "So you have been sending Henry to spy on me... or us, rather."

"I did not send him, he was quite voluntary."

Link gritted his teeth in a closed and tight mouth.

"Would you like to hear some of the things I know about you? Just from what Henry has told me, I know that your parents were killed when you were young, in the heat of the Altean and Hylian war. Your mother hid you among the Great Deku tree to spare your life; you were then raised by your grandmother with your younger sister Aryll. You were badly bullied when you were a child. You bear the mark of the Triforce on your left hand, since you were fifteen, to show that you were destined for the Triforce of Courage of your land."

Jennan suddenly spoke in a harsh whisper from the floor. "Father, you are unbelievable."

Dorobis ignored her completely and continued to stare at Link. "And what of this princess that you nearly killed yourself over her departure a few years ago? If you loved her that much, you would not have any room for Jennan in your heart. As I said, you do not love her."

Link spoke quietly, just above a whisper. "You are a fool, to talk that way to someone who holds a sword to your throat."

"Perhaps I am, but you are a fool to hold a sword to the throat of your master."

"You are not my master."

Artos suddenly stepped forward, though slowly, and cast the hot poker to the floor. "Link, stop," he said carefully.

Link only now noticed how hard his heart was pounding and how shallow his breathing had been. He took a deep breath, then after a moment of hesitation, lowered the sword to his side, the point barely touching the floor. "You're right, Dorobis," he whispered. "I can't kill you."

Dorobis smirked. "That is what I thought." The man crossed his arms.

Link's voice rose to a normal note. "But by the gods, that doesn't mean I won't beat the Hades out of you." He said it as if it were the most normal sentence in the world, and Dorobis' eyebrows raised. The room had gotten freezing cold, for the door had remained open the entire time of the motionless, tense battle. Now that the sword was down, the rest of them seemed more comfortable to move.

Link's and Dorobis' eyes still met angrily, but Link noticed someone in the doorway. He took a split second to look and saw Rhashidi, standing rigid and ready to spring if he had to. The wolf-boy looked as if he did not know who to attack first, but he was looking at Dorobis with a low growl.

"Link," Artos said softly, putting a hand on the Hylian's shoulder, "we have to go. Back to Barrack."

Link shrugged Artos' hand away, but it just came right back firmly. Link shoved it off again with his free hand, then slid his sword back into its sheath. Finally breaking the hard stare with Dorobis, he turned and bent to Jennan. She looked into his eyes with a mix of fear, admiration, and gratitude. She knew that he had acted overly bold, but he had done it for her. She feared his strength and courage, but it thrilled her at the same time. He took her upper-body up in his arms and lifted her to her feet. She clung to the back of his neck, and the room started to breathe again. Dorobis was glaring angrily, but Link ignored him. He pulled back from Jennan and turned to Rhashidi.

"Rhashidi, stay with Jennan," he commanded, and Rhashidi perked up his ears and immediately came inside, standing close beside Jennan. Everyone knew that Link really meant, 'Protect her from her own father while I'm gone'. He gave Dorobis one last glare, and then was out the door with Artos.

After the door closed, there was a thick silence. Nothing was said until Link and Artos were on their way. Dorobis straightened his coat and mumbled, "That boy's lucky to be alive right now."

Matayo bristled. "No, Father, _you_ are lucky to be alive. How dare you do that to Jennan! If I had been the one with a sword to your throat, I believe I would have driven it in. Too bad Link didn't."

"My own son." Dorobis shook his head, though not completely serious. "It's not right, is it?"

"No, it's not! I am not trying to justify the situation that brought this on, but you have done nothing but made it worse. Don't you realize that you were barely hanging onto your life there for awhile? If that would have been anyone else in the world but Link, you would be dead right now."

"Be quiet, Matayo, if you know what's good for you. I won't even have to worry about that Hylian slave for long."

Memnet spoke up. "What exactly are you saying?"

"I am giving him to my sister. Or trying, rather. I still cannot convince her to take him."

Jennan gasped. "No!"

"It's all right, Jennan," Memnet said. "Father, now we see why you made Link go to Barrack the last time; so your sister can examine him. How brilliant you are," she said sarcastically.

"What if he doesn't come back?" Jennan exclaimed.

"He'll come back," Memnet assured. She looked back at Dorobis. "And besides, you cannot just get rid of Link. Jennan's going to have his child."

Dorobis growled, "That's why Jennan is going to get a husband, to take care of the bairn."

"Marry her off to Link."

"No." The faintest trace of a smile appeared on Dorobis' face. "She is already promised to Henry."

Jennan gasped again, louder this time. Both of her hands shot to her face. "Nooo! I won't marry Herny; I won't do it!"

"You _will_ do it," Dorobis barked. "You'll marry him and that's it."

**-O-**

"Oh Link, what are you going to do?"

Artos and Link were on their first night back from Barrack a few days after the confrontation in the kitchen in Carrickfergus. Link had taken it upon himself to ride Epona this time, and when they had reached Barrack a day ago, they had seen Lae and his friends in the streets. Link had ridden straight and stiff in the saddle, but Lae glanced at him once and then would not look at him again. So, at least that had been settled between them a few months ago. When they had reached Dorobis' sister's house, Link had had to suffer with being stared at again the whole time. The woman had even tried to make conversation with him, but he had only spoken in one-word answers, making it clear that he did not want to talk. She had sent another letter back with them once again.

Link had been mostly silent the whole way, thinking hard. He heard Artos' question and turned to look at him. "About what."

"About... Jennan, and Dorobis."

Link tossed his hair away from his eyes, shifting in the saddle. "I'm going to do the obvious. It's my job to take care of her now, and I will if Dorobis is there or not."

"That's a bold move."

Link's voice rose surprisingly. "I love Jennan! Why can't anybody seem to get that?"

"We do get it," Artos said quickly, as if trying to undo what he had just done. "But Dorobis is..."

"I don't fear him like everyone else does. I've faced worse before."

"You're headstrong, Link. Sometimes too much." Artos shook his head. "What's your plan now?"

Link replied without hesitation. "When we get back, I'm going to try to get Jennan to marry me."

"She'll say yes in a heartbeat- I cannot say the same for Dorobis, though."

"If he doesn't give his permission... then just let him go to the netherworld. If she says yes, I'll marry her anyway."

Artos exclaimed a curse. "Dangerous, you are!"

Link kept his eyes on the lantern-lit town that they were approaching. "I have to do what I have to do. I've thought about asking Jennan to marry me before, but now it's etched in stone. Don't think that I _like_ doing this when her father doesn't wish it; I want him to say yes, but it'll never happen."

"You're right, it won't. But I'll leave this decision to you and Jennan now."

A crowd of young boys suddenly ran by on them on the trail, then followed by another crowd a few minutes later. Link and Artos shared a confused look, for it was strange for boys to be outside on the trail this late at night. Artos had to pull his horse to a stop to avoid colliding with a lone boy that had obviously been to slow to keep up with his friends.

"Sorry," the boy said, then quickly hurried on along the trail. Link kicked Epona into a trot, then pulled her to a stop when he reached the boy.

"Wait," he said, leaning over in the saddle with his arms resting on the back of Epona's neck. "What's the hurry?"

The boy looked up at him like he was crazy. "Don't you know?"

"No," Link said, close to losing his patience. Usually he was very calm in that way, but tonight he was riled.

"You must be travellers, then," the boy said, "because everyone knows."

"Except me," Link said, struggling to keep the harshness out of his voice. "Tell me, what is it?"

"Only the best thing you'll ever see!" The boy gestured wildly. "My friends are leaving me, so I must hurry. Anyway, I heard it through my uncle. They say the princess of Hyrule has come to this town- tonight!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Hooray for the good reviews I got on that seriously long chapter 12. They were great, though a couple of them confused me. Haha. It took me forever (again) on this chapter because I was very busy this last week with barely any time to write. Anyway, here we go...**

**-O-**

The boy hurried off on his way towards the torchlit town, and Link sat heavily in Epona's saddle, stunned. There was no doubt that he had heard the boy correctly, but why trust a child? Princess Zelda had not been seen for over two years, so why would she suddenly appear now? But Link pushes those thoughts from his mind. If Zelda really was in this town ahead and he merely passed by, it would be one of the most foolish decisions of his life. He stared ahead, frozen, and Artos reined in his horse beside him.

"What did that lad say?"

Link blinked slowly. "He said-" He cut off the sentence with another one, "I need to stop at this town ahead."

Artos turned his head in that direction, then back to Link. "It's off course of the trail back to Carrickfergus. Why is it that you want to go there?"

"I just do. Wait for me." Link nudged Epona into a canter, and Artos made a surprised sound.

"Wait for you? Here?" Artos glanced at the cold, deserted darkness around him. "Link!"

But Link was already off on his way and had no intention of turning back now. He gripped the leather reins tightly in his fingers and leaned forward over Epona's neck, his knees pressed hard against her sides with anticipation. He was having very mixed and confusion feelings, for in the back of his mind still drifted the situation about Jennan, but his immediate thoughts were on Zelda. In the two and a half years that he had been away from her, his strong love and longing for her had begun to subside- especially in the last six months that he had known Jennan. It was not so simple of a thing to say that Jennan had replaced Zelda; no, they both held different spaces in his heart, though Zelda's had somewhat faded over time. As he rode down a slanted and rocky hill in the darkness, the town getting slowly closer, he wondered, if the princess really was here, how different things would be since they had last seen one another. The memory of her had permanently burned into his mind of when she had left Hyrule reluctantly, and her sad expression as they had held one another's hands for as long as possible before she had broken away. That was how he had remembered her for nearly three years.\par Hopefully that could all be forgotten and overwritten with a new memory, if he even really saw her- if that kid could be trusted. But it would not hurt to try, and Epona galloped down the hill with her rigid and anxious rider clinging to her back.

**-O-**

Prince Marth shocked the kingdom when on a cold and blustery day he was seen outside the castle in the garden. He sat alone on a concrete bench beside the elegant fountain, the water frozen, with his left leg extended to straighten out the pain in his knee. A couple of female servants carrying empty platters stared at him blatantly, though they wisely kept their distance. He glanced at them, but that was about as far as his attention to them went.

He put his face in his hands and massaged his fingers into his hair, just below the golden tiara. He had a terrible headache, another thing from the war that still haunted him, the result of getting his head near split open in the heat of the battle. His nurse had many times given him liquid remedies, and which none had ever worked. The near constant pain that he was usually in made him more irritable than he already was, which was a terrible thing for the people around him. He had been hard to get along with before, but now he had become almost unbearable to be near. Anya and Gathan were the only ones that were brave enough to try.

The girls kept their eyes on him until they were out of sight. The garden was brown and dead at this time of year, covered with snow and killed by the cold, so not lush and beautiful as it usually was. Marth did not notice anyway; he had failed to notice many details of life these days, save for what was going on in his troubled mind and body. The pain was so bad, especially at night, that sleep was a lot of the times way out of the question. And he had a secret that only he knew; such was the intensity of the pain in his knee or his head, he cried sometimes at night when he was alone. In public, though Anya and Gathan were the only public to him now, he was tough, haughty, and proud, and no one had ever seen him cry. Most of the time he would just grit his teeth and bear the pain, but sometimes it was impossible for a mortal being.

He had been trying to straighten his walk as best he could, to get rid of the cursed limp, and though it brought on much pain, he was slowly succeeding. He did not think it was seemly for a prince to walk and stand that way; he was supposed to appear strong and sure of himself.

His deep thoughts were interrupted when he heard a strange sound from above, and he quickly looked up, mouth slightly open, and saw a strange flash of fire streak across the grey sky. A shrill scream just over the hill followed, and Marth stood up, on edge, his cloak still hanging down over the back of the cement bench. He kept his blue eyes on the sky, his dark bangs swaying in his eyes with the light, cold breeze. He looked down at the horizon, which had started to glow a reddish orange color. Marth had seen that kind of glow many times, and he knew that something over the hill was on fire.

He kept his steps steady as he walked towards the glow, his cloak dragging over the top of the bench, and then after catching a wave of air, falling at its normal place at the back of him. He left the garden, knowing that it was foolish to just walk off to go investigate something like this with no guards with him, but he did not care. The pain in his head was making it hard to think, anyway. The closer he got to the hill, the more intense the glow became. After a few more steps he could see the tip of flames below. He reached the top of the hill and looked down on the stone and brick houses of the village below. A slew of houses were on fire, flames licking off the roofs and out the windows. People streamed from the houses, and Marth saw a few men who were obviously not a part of his kingdom, and he stiffened.

A woman spotted him and came running up the hill. When she reached him, she threw herself down to her knees in front of him, bowing her head to the grass. "Oh, Prince Marth," she exclaimed. "Please help us! Please..." She was practically hooked around his ankles, and his eyes shifted from her to the carnage that was forming below as he thought on what he would do. The woman lifted her head from the ground to look at his face, tears streaming from her eyes. "My husband... they killed my man..."

Marth was still trying to figure out who 'they' were, but he looked back down at the woman and extended his hand to her. "Get up," he said, and she took his hand and rose to her feet. She clung to his arm, bent at the knees, and sobbed hard. Marth felt some sort of trace of compassion, but mostly he wanted her to get off him.

"Someone must do something now," the woman sobbed.

"I'll take care of it," Marth said boldly, pushing her back gently, his eyes still cast downward to the confusion below. Most of the woman's weight was on his arm, and her hands gripped tightly above his elbow, the side of her face pressed against his wrist. He gave her a harsh look, and she quickly let go and sank to the ground, bowing low with her face in her hands. He ignored her groveling and moved around her, his steps down the hill heavy and even, the harsh limp for once only slightly noticable.

He was not thinking clearly--he had not been doing that for months now--but something in the back of his mind told him that he was being overly brash. He ignored it and continued on, his fingers curved around the hilt of his sword that for now remained in the sheath. Someone was in his kingdom and attacking his subjects, and that was all he knew. His soldier's instinct urged him to fight, and the sudden adrenaline rushed. He picked up his pace, and his senses were assaulted by fire and smoke when he reached the high-class village. People who were noticing their neighbors' houses aflame deserted their own dwellings and ran out into the street to see what was happening. An elderly man nearly ran smack into Marth, then focused and when realized that it was the prince, promptly fell down on his knees.

"Majesty!" the man cried out in apology and surprise.

"Who's attacked us?" Marth barked. When the man merely sat their shaking, "Well? Answer me!"

"Ah, ah- Akanea, highness. It's Akanea!" The old man rocked back and forth on his knees. "They are killing people even in the streets. Oh, ye gods..."

Marth side-stepped around the old man and turned down a street corner at a slow jog. Now that there was a straight space of road in front of him, the sight nearly took his breath away. He had the urge to turn away, but he stood frozen for quite a few seconds before he blinked and swallowed hard. The old man had been right. Bodies littered the paved street, still and bloody; bodies of the elderly, women, and children as well as men. It had been bad enough in the heat of and aftermath of the war with Doluna, but the men that had died were soldiers doing their jobs to defend Altea. These people were all innocents, probably had been dead before even knowing what had hit them.

Something rose in Marth's throat that felt like a mix of fury, horror, and sadness. He suddenly felt a terrible wave of nausea, but it was quickly forgotten when a close movement caught his eye. He looked up and was replused to see a mountain of a man with blond hair in the street wearing a black hooded cloak, and a screaming and fighting young woman on his shoulder. The man's gaze flicked over to the angry prince and rested there for a moment. The two of them exchanged challenging glares, and Marth demonstrated his meaning by drawing the Falchion from its sheath with a dramatic swish. He then noticed that the man had a huge war axe in his hand, and noticed at the same exact time that it was not just any young woman on the man's shoulder, it was Anya!

Marth spent a split second of his time wondering why his sister had been down in the village, then threw himself into battle mode. It did not matter if the man spoke English or not; Marth could talk with his sword. The man accepted the challenge, and unfortunately dumped Anya clear off his shoulder. It was a long way down, and Anya cried out when she hit the ground. Marth made a move to go to her, but the man jumped in front of him and brought down the heavy axe. Marth twisted out of the way and then struggled to avoid stepping on his sister. She sat there tense, her eyes wide because of the fight that was going on literally right on her. She did not even know that it was Marth who was fighting for her, and there was no time to tell.

Marth danced out of the way of another hard swipe of the axe, then jumped away from Anya to take the fight from her. Luckily the man followed. Marth was tall and well-built, but the size of this man and his axe was ridiculous. Marth knew that he would have to use his wits and speed to win this fight, and even that was easier said than done.

Having no other possible move, Marth threw up his sword to block the oncoming axe. The two weapons smashed together, steel grinding against steel, and Marth struggled to hold his own, but the man was too strong. Marth pulled back as quick as a flash, and the axe sliced through open air. He threw out a series of quick slashes with his sword that only bashed off the side of the man's blocking axe. Marth was being fueled by a terrible anger that he had never quite felt before; it was based off the fact that innocent subjects had been murdered needlessly, his kingdom was under attack again, and his sister had become a victim. Though he did wonder in the back of his mind why reinforcements had not been sent to back him up, he was content with taking this on by himself, at least for now. During the quick-paced and intense battle with the blond-haired giant, he was aware of the movement of people around him, probably for the most part Akaneans. The Altean inhabitants of the village were either dead or had fled away.

One of Marth's quick and deadly swipes of the sword managed to hit its mark--up until now the man had been strangely fast--and sliced open the huge bicep of his opponent. As blood spilled, the man grimaced but otherwise showed no signs of pain. He continued intently on trying to take down the young man that had challenged him; he had no idea that it was the prince of the country that he was in battle with.

Marth would have been dead at the beginning of the fight had it not been for his amazing speed. Even with the old pain in his knee, he was lightning-fast as always. He had trained that way for as long as he had been old enough to handle a sword, and the way his body was built allowed him to be strong and yet fast at once. He had always been able to fight a silent one-on-one, with only the slightest of battle cries. It was for that reason that Anya did not recognize him now. All she heard was someone taking on the giant who had tried to carry her off.

There were no moves open for the Falchion, but Marth saw a chance for a direct physical attack. He balanced out his weight and mustered up his strength, then planted a violent kick in the man's stomach. The force of it would have floored any normal person, but this man's size was not normal; his stomach was protected by an armor of muscle, and the kick, though powerful, did little in Marth's favor. In fact, it was an open chance for the man to make a counter attack, and he did. His huge hand flashed up and grabbed Marth's vulnerable ankle, causing the latter to lose all balance. As Marth was yanked forward, the man let go of his ankle and brought his closed hand back. The hard momentum carried Marth's face directly into the fist, and Marth had never seen so many stars. He could feel the blood running over his mouth and down his chin, but other than that was numb. He opened his eyes, hand still gripping his sword, and took a moment to dazedly look at the man's face under the black hood. The man's left eye held an old scar, long healed over, a sign of a pervious battle some time ago.

Marth felt the man's huge hand grip over his chestplate, and he was violently hurled to the ground. His breath was knocked out of him on impact, and he slid for a few yards across the snowy street before thankfully coming to a stop. He did not think, only did what was natural, and pushed himself up to his feet, refusing to stay down for longer than was physically necessary. He flicked his long cape back and then raised his sword in both hands, a sign that the man would have to fight harder than that to keep him down. Marth rushed forward at a run, bringing the sword back to the side over his shoulder, and levelled his aim at his huge opponent. The man came forward to meet him, just as Marth had expected and planned, and then the younger man quite literally ran up the other's knee, kicked his huge and blond-bearded face with all his might, and went somersaulting over the hulking man's head. It happened so quickly that Marth held his breath the whole time without discomfort. At the end of his somersault, and as the man under him was still falling foward to the ground with hands on face, Marth slashed with his sword four times before either of them hit the ground, but once they did, the man lay on his face in the blood-stained snow. All of Marth's slashes had hit the man's back, and the man's thick shirts were sliced, ripped, and covered with blood.

And Marth was not done yet. He fell to his knees over the man and somehow managed to turn him over onto his bleeding back. Marth began punching with his free hand as hard as he could possible manage, his ruthless blows all directed at the man's face, and hitting hard. He was not used to delivering direct physical blows like this, but he knew how to punch and knew how to make it hurt. He was known for having big hands, and thus could cause a lot of damage. Also, he felt no remorse; not any in the slightest.

Somehow the man was still conscious, and he reached up and grabbed Marth's wrist. Marth struggled to pull away, flexing and twisting his hand, but the man was by far too strong for a wrestling match. Marth had a knee on each side of the huge man, and he was suddenly very finished with this battle. With his free right hand, he lifted his sword high, aimed the deadly point at the man's chest, and drove it home with all of his strength.

Marth twisted the sword ninety-degrees as blood spilled everywhere. The man's black hood fell back and fully revealed his face, which was plastered into the expression of a death mask. Marth slowly drew his sword out of the man's chest, the sharp blade covered in blood. The man's eyes closed hard, then opened again, and his chest fell with a final breath.

Marth stood up, panting hard with his mouth closed tightly, and looked down at the body of his fallen opponent after sheathing his sword. Then he heard a small whimper from Anya, and he stepped away from the man and went to her, bending down, and placed his hand on her shoulder. Unexpectedly, she wailed and directed an attack at his face. He had been oblivious to the fact that she had not known that it was him the whole time, and was caught off guard at the suddeness of her violent actions. He turned his face away from her clawing hands, but not before she left a gash down the length of his jaw.

"Anya!" he cried out, grabbing onto her arms and pushing her back to protect himself. "Anya, it's me! Stop!"

She somehow heard him through her screaming and froze in mid-move, as if she was making sure she had heard right. "Marth," she breathed shakily, then threw her arms around him and burst into tears. He held her tightly, still quite shaken from the whole situation himself, and they knelt in the snow together. But unknown to either of them, it was not the first time that huge blond man had tried to carry off a young woman; he had once been in Carrickfergus and faced Link's wrath after trying to carry off Jennan months ago in the dark woods.

But Marth had ended it all now, finished what Link had once not done.

**-O-**

Jennan lived as an emotional wreck over those few days that Link was gone, worried and fretting the entire time, and not allowing herself to be consoled, even by her sister. Rhashidi stuck close to Jennan and allowed no one near her, save for Memnet and Ima, not even Matayo or Artos. He always had taken Link's commands and suggestions seriously, and this especially was no exception. He had a sixth sense that knew how much Link cared for Jennan, and if Link was willing to give everything for her, so was Rhashidi.

Dorobis was terribly angry that Rhashidi stayed so close to Jennan, but the viciousness of the wolf-boy left nothing to be done about it. No one was foolish enough to trifle with him, and even Dorobis knew that it would remain this way until Link returned from Barrack. Dorobis would blatantly cringe at the mere sound of Link's name when it was spoken, furious that things were near out of his control, but he was planning on giving Link to his sister for a slave. Jennan knew this, and it was the main reason that she was so upset.

The other reasons were fairly obvious. Not only was Dorobis getting rid of Link, but he was going to try and marry Jennan off to Henry; a thing that Jennan was willing to fight tooth and nail to escape. Her emotions were wild anyway because of the child growing within her, though she was so early on in the pregnancy that one could not even tell she was with child when just looking at her. Ima said that it was very unhealthy for Jennan to be as nervous as she was- Jennan was afraid that Link had gone to Barrack and would not be able to come back, and she had silently sworn to herself that if that had happened, she would somehow make her way to Barrack as well and find him.

Dorobis stayed in his dwelling and sulked by himself over that time. Since Link and Artos were gone, there was a lot of work that was not being done and was therefore pushed onto Matayo, who did the best he could, but it was near impossible for him to complete his own daily work as well as Artos' and Link's. There just was not enough light during the day to finish it all, and Dorobis, though his broken ribs were long healed over, offered no assistance.

On the fourth day that Link and Artos were gone, Jennan had near worn herself out from nervous worry, and collapsed into a chair at the table in the kitchen, Rhashidi on the floor beside her. She was having an annoying pain in her stomach that only added to her discomfort, and she was hungry but could not stand even the thought of eating. Ima brought her a glass of water and gently sat it down on the table in front of her.

"If you do not pull yourself together, there will be nothing left of you when Link does come back," Ima said. Then sternly, "And he_ is _coming back, Jennan."

Jennan just stared at the water in the glass. To her, it looked as if it was swirling, though it was not. Memnet sat in the wooden chair by the front door and glanced up from her needlework. "She won't believe it until he walks through the front door," she said to Ima, her voice somewhat dry.

"Even so, you still must eat something, or at least drink," Ima said. Then only the sound of the crackling fire filled the room, followed by the clicking of Memnet's needles. Rhashidi shifted on the floor and let out a long breath through his nose.

"Something isn't right," he said quietly, his ears cocked back with uncertainty. Jennan looked at him with alarm.

"Ah, don't say that," Memnet scolded. "You'll worry Jennan more than she already is."

Rhashidi shut his mouth, but it did not change the strange feeling he had in his chest.

**-O-**

Epona's sides heaved with her panting as she thundered to the entrance of the town, and Link pulled back on her reins to slow her to a canter, then to a trot. She had a lather of sweat on her, but for some reason seemed too excited to want to rest. Link felt a little bad for leaving Artos alone back on the dark trail, but Link had things to do that would be better done alone.

Burning torches lit the street all the way down. The cobblestone street was so long, flanked by houses and shops on both sides, that it curved up ahead and trailed on out of sight. People were everywhere, merely standing or walking down the middle of the road, but there was an air of excitement about them that made Link think that perhaps the princess of Hyrule really was here, for whatever reason. He felt a sharp twinge of anticipation, and Epona evidently felt it too, for she kept pulling at the bit in an effort to go faster, something she had not done since she was little more than a foal.

Link took the time to examine the expressions of the people as he rode on. Most looked excited and in wonder, but there were a few here and there that did not seem to be very happy with this arrangement. One man held the Altean flag in his hand and was making the gesture to ward off evil. Link had the urge to make it back to him but was too preoccupied with moving Epona through the crowd and avoiding pedestrians.

Link suddenly saw soldiers up ahead, and his breath sucked in- they were Hylian soldiers. That was probably why none of the people in the crowd seemed to be wondering who he was or where he came from; they just thought he was another man with the princess. He suddenly had an idea. If everyone thought that, then that meant he could probably get a lot closer. He made an attempt to try, but there were too many careless people in the street and Epona was getting nervous. If he stayed here at the back of the procession he might never catch up, so he reined Epona off to the left and cut off from the street between two dwellings, coming out in the dark shadows of the woods. He nudged Epona into a canter, and they moved swiftly through the darkness. Link kept his eyes to the right, focusing through the small spaces between buildings to see what was going on in the street, and where exactly he was. There were some stretches of close buildings that were so close together that Link could see nothing but the back of the houses for quite a few strides before going by another open space again. Strips of light from inside the street spilled out into the darkness and lit Epona's way. She seemed glad to be moving at a quicker pace now.

Through another quick passing crack between two houses, Link spotted a crowd of armed soldiers, straight and rigid in their marching walk. He set his jaw and leaned forward in the saddle, Epona's flaxen mane blowing up into his face and over his shoulders. There was too much noise on the street for the hoofbeats to be heard clearly, and he hoped that the soldiers would not notice him yet, for he could be mistaken for someone with ill intentions.

The sight through the next wide crack between houses that passed by made Link suck in his breath. Through the crowd of armed guards, he saw for a split second the flowing white and pink skirts and long blonde hair that made his heart skip a beat. He let Epona go for a few long strides, then pulled her to a halt and quickly dismounted, twisting her reins over a low tree branch. The space between the two shops beside him was wide, and he stayed in the shadow but slowly looked around the corner to the street. Just as planned, he was ahead of the slow-moving procession, and he looked back and could see just what he had been looking for. In a circle of well-placed guards walked an elegant, high-stepping white horse, and its calm and light rider was none other than Princess Zelda.

Link could not see her very well; there were too many people in the way. But he could tell how much she had grown up in the past three years, even from where he was standing. The golden Hylian crown she wore sparkled in the torchlight, and her head was held high as she examined and sometimes waved to the people around her. The top part of her dress was a beautiful pink, and she had shining white gloves that extended almost up to her shoulders. Link found it hard to breathe. She had grown up as much as he had in the long time that had passed.

His heart was thundering in his chest; he was not exactly sure why. The return of an old flame, or old love, in this case, was always a difficult thing, but he had not had this feeling about anyone since he had very first personally met Zelda, back when he was not even fourteen. He had been shy and somewhat clumsy back then, and that was probably the only way that she remembered him. Well, he was a man now, and he hoped it did not come onto her as too much of a surprise.

Zelda was getting closer now. It pained him that she had no idea that he was watching her, that he was not even ten yards away, and for a moment he was not sure what he was going to do. What could he say? The situation was so difficult and confusing that he was beginning to feel sick. But all the while that he was thinking this, the familiar and sweet feeling of his true love for Jennan burned in his chest.

The princess was so close now that Link knew he must do something. His eyes were on her face, now thin and pointed into a woman's, beautiful as always, and he took a step farther into the firelight. She was still oblivious to his presence, until he said, "Zelda."

Her eyes shifted in his direction and then rested squarely on him, startled. Her mouth was a tight line; she had obviously not recognized his voice. She reined her horse to a stop, and the entire crowd around her ceased moving as well. She looked him over, then gazed into his eyes, and a look of realization swept over her face, and she gasped slightly. Unsure, she whispered in awe, "Link?"

Link took another step forward, though still somewhat concealed in the shadows, and unstrapped the arm-guard on his left arm and pulled off his fingerless glove. The rest of the people seemed confused at this movement, and the guards moved forward as if to jump on him, but the princess held up a hand to stop them, her eyes wide in wonder. Link held up his bare left hand and then turned the palm backwards, fingers bent, revealing the mark of the Triforce to her.

The gasp that rushed through her mouth was one of intense excitement. She swung herself off of the majestic white horse and hit the ground. She was taller than the last time they had been together, maybe seven inches over five feet, and she had grown into a woman everywhere. She stood with her hands grasped in her skirts, holding them up from the ground, and they stood looking at each other while Link strapped back on the arm-guard. A smile twisted onto his face, and his heart rushed. He was out of the view of most of the crowd, save for a few soldiers, and Zelda stepped forward to get closer.

She wrung out her hands slowly, smiling. A laugh escaped her closed lips. "Well..." she said hesitantly. Then she sobered and came foward with her arms open to him, and he caught her in a close, very meaningful hug. She pressed her face to the side of his neck and tightened her arms around him. The guards behind her drew back to mind their own business. "It's been so long," Zelda whispered in his ear, her eyes closing.

Link did not reply yet. His hug was forceful but not hard enough to hurt her, as if it were making up for the past three years. "Were you in exile all this time?" he whispered back. He was so stunned with the situation that he did not know what ot say.

She shook her head against his neck slowly. "I went back to Hyrule a year after Father and I first left. My nursemaid Impa told me that you had gone to look for me. So then I went to look for you." He felt her smile. "It's all confusing, isn't it?"

"They tried not to let me go," Link said flatly.

"Foolish. They should have known better than to try to stop you from something." She leaned up suddenly and then kissed him tenderly, her hands on his shoulders and then making their way down his arms. She pulled back and looked him over. "You have the shoulders of a man," she said, a hint of near passion in her voice. Her hand traveled down his chest, and he could tell that she was thinking the same thing.

The moment was very awkward in its own way, yet tender as well. The three years of Zelda only being a memory made Link unsure at what to do now. Stumbling for words as always, he said, "How is your father?"

"He is well." Zelda's hands tightened on Link's biceps. She seemed more intent on concentrating on him instead of anything else. She smiled again. "That twinge of a boy is gone from your voice."

Link suddenly noticed that she had a sword strapped to her side. Well, she had always had an independent air about her, though he had saved her from danger quite more than once. He had now ceased to hear all the noises of the street. "I've grown up," he said, not quite knowing what else _to_ say.

"So I see," she said, a purr in her voice. Used to, they had been about the same height. Now she had to tilt back her head to look in his ocean-blue eyes. Finally, she asked the question that he had been dreading. "Where have you been all of this time?"

He swallowed hard. "For the past two years or so, looking for you."

"And then what?"

How could he tell her that he was a slave to a tyrant man? Sure, he could escape any time that he wanted if he really set his mind to it, but he did not really want to. Telling her he was a slave would go against the very nature of him- what would she think of that? Well, there was no way of getting around it. They had always been honest with each other, and there was no reason to stop now. "I've been at a small city called Carrickfergus."

Zelda nodded slowly, her fingers prodding his biceps. "I have heard of it. Is there a reason you settled there?"

Link breathed in the aroma of her. She smelled like lavender tulips. "It was unwillingly at first."

Zelda's eyebrows raised. "How is that?" Obviously she thought that it was impossible for anyone to force him to do anything.

"A group of men jumped me in the forest." He was nervous for some reason. "There were twelve at first, seven at the end of it. I..."

Zelda's sparkling eyes traveled to the Master Sword in its sheath on his back. "You killed some of them."

"Yes, but-"

Her delicate hand softly touched his mouth and silenced him. "They attacked you; you defended yourself. That is not wrong in my eyes."

He did not want her to find fault with him, so he was relieved at her last sentence. "But there were still too many of them, and... they took my weapons, tied me up and took me to their commander."

Now Zelda looked angry because of the story he was telling. "Fools!" she exclaimed, her fingers tightening on his arms. "How can someone be so foolish?"

"What was worse, they took Epona and I didn't know what happened to her for awhile, but they did nothing to her."

"So you still have Epona then," Zelda said thoughtfully.

"Yes," Link replied, and motioned behind him. "She's right here."

Zelda took his wrist and entered the shadows. Her guards were standing at a distant in the street, but they looked very wary of this and were rigid as if ready to spring any minute. It was strange that they did not know who Link was.

Epona whuffled joyfully at the sight of Zelda and nudged the princess's shoulder when she got close. "Ah, she is the same as always," Zelda exlcaimed, fondling the horse's muzzle. Link draped his free arm around her neck and gave her a pat.

"She's glad to see you again," he said, and then looked down at the snowy ground. "And so am I."

Zelda turned to him, her hand still on Epona. "Link," she said, her voice serious, "at times I thought I would never see you again. I wondered what had become of you, but knew that you were alive and probably safe." She stepped closer. "You are known for taking good care of yourself, and of others. Oh, how many times you rescued me from danger in the past. Though you and I were destined to know one another, we became close friends in the process... and more. I have never forgotten you for that."

Link was suddenly hit by a wave of sadness. Why must she hit such a tender area with her words? It made it all the worse that things should not--and could not-- be the same way again. He had made things hard on himself now, but even if Jennan was not with child, he was not sure exactly what he would do. It was awful to be torn in the middle this way, but deep inside his heart he already knew what he was going to do.

Zelda did not notice his sudden change. She continued on. "Is Rhashidi still with you? He did find his way to you, didn't he?"

Link snapped back to the present. "Yes, he's been with me for almost the whole time," he said. "And he's a loyal friend." He knew that the wolf-boy was willing to protect Jennan with his life at this very moment, and Link spoke his last sentence with complete honesty.

"When I first came across him, he was in a bad situation. No one knows where he came from, but he was in the possession of a ruthless man and woman who were going to use him for their own selfish gain. I commanded that he be brought into my care." She smiled. "When you have an army behind you, it is not hard to do that kind of thing." She turned from Epona. "Oh, I am sorry. I never even let you finish your story. Finish telling me why you are in Carrickfergus."

Link took a deep breath and replied bluntly, "I'm a slave."

She looked at him with alarm. "How can that be, Link?"

He thought his name sounded good coming from her mouth. "I'm a slave in name only. I never even took the brand, though they tried."

"What did you do?"

"They had me chained up, and all I did was threaten. They didn't try again."

"Well, they have at least _some_ sense. After seeing what you did to some of their men, they were probably afraid to come that close to you."

"Yes." Then he blurted, nearly unwillingly, "I could leave any time that I want."

She tilted her head and looked up at him. Softly she said, "Then why don't you? Now that we have finally met up with one another again, you can come back to Hyrule and we could live like we used to, before I was put into exile."

Link did not want to tell her the truth, but he knew it was the right thing to do. Besides, Jennan was certainly nothing to be ashamed about. "I can't."

Zelda stiffened. "Why can't you?"

"Because." Link swallowed, and he felt his throat have a spasm. "My girl in Carrickfergus... she is with child."

Zelda stepped back as if he had just slapped her. By the look on her face, it seemed that she would have expected that more than what he had just said. But she quickly got a hold of herself. "I see."

He let go of Epona and stepped forward after her. "I've made more than one mistake."

Zelda looked at him as if to say, _I see no ring on _your _finger. _Almost accusingly she asked in a cold voice, "Do you love this girl?"

He could not match her tone and did not want to. "Yes, for months now."

She turned her back to him abruptly. "You move on more quickly than I do, obviously."

That cut him deep; it was her way of saying that she stilled loved him. He reached over and turned her around to face him again. Tears burned in her eyes, but none spilled. "You're angry with me," he said, distressed.

Zelda shook her head slowly. "No," she choked. "Not with you, not with your girl; with myself."

"Yourself?"

"If I would have just let you come with me like you asked, that day I left Hyrule, it would be different now." She put her face in her hands. "It looks like I am the fool."

He touched her arms. "Zelda, you're not a fool. You did what you thought was best. I'm sorry."

She pulled away gently and dried her eyes with the back of her wrist. "Well, that's the way things are, I suppose. I guess I can get back to Hyrule now; I have a country to rule."

Though she was saying nothing blatantly accusing or rude, he felt terrible. He no doubt still loved Zelda, but the power of his feelings had been diminished over time, and he had found a new love. He was having conflicting feelings at the present moment, for one moment he was wondering if he was making another bad mistake, and then the other he was assuring himself that he was not. It was all so confusing that he just suddenly wanted to go to sleep. "Zelda, I'm sorry," he said.

She held up a hand. "Link, don't apologize for making a life for yourself." She started off back towards the street, then stopped and looked back at him. "Just please take on last piece of advice from me. Get yourself out of a slave's environment, for you are no slave. Take your girl with you if you have to, but _please_ somehow free yourself."

Link said sternly, "You're not saying this as a last good-bye, are you?"

Zelda shook her head and whispered, "No. I expect that we will see each other again, probably more than once. Just take care of yourself. Good-bye for now." She swept herself back out to the bustling street, and Link stood in the darkness alone. A year or more before, he had always imagined meeting up with Zelda again to be a great and joyful thing, but now he found himself feeling quite badly. He stiffly mounted Epona and in his numbness went off to find Artos.

**-O-**

Marth took Anya back to the castle and cleaned his sword after calling out his soldiers. But as the Akanean invaders saw the massive Altean army that were coming to fight them, they wisely fled. The carnage down in the village was looked over and cleaned up as best as could be done, but there were a lot of mourning and angry people about the streets. Marth was bruised all over from the fight with the blond-haired giant, but thankfully Anya was all right.

Marth commanded that the gates bordering Altea be guarded against the many enemies that surrounded the country, and guards were immediately sent out to their posts.

**-O-**

The next thing that Jennan knew, she was waking up in her bed. It was nighttime, but the room was lit by a single lantern. She was drowsy and disoriented, and she turned her head to see Matayo sitting in a chair by the bed. She groaned a little and felt pain all over. Matayo stood up and put a hand on her head, looking down at her with worry. She looked back, confused. Her brother's hand was cold on her burning head and she tried to shake it away, but he would not move it.

"Matayo," she mumbled, annoyed. She felt uncomfortable and thirsty. "Why am I here?"

He bent down closer to her and looked at her strangely. "You don't remember?" he whispered.

"No," she said innocently. "The last thing I knew, I was in the kitchen with everyone else."

Matayo mumbled something to himself in awe. "Jennan, that was two days ago."

"Two days?" Jennan was alarmed and tried to sit up, but her brother stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Lie back down," he said, and headed towards the door. "I'll be back."

Jennan lay down and tried to clear her head. She was so confused that it made her head hurt, and not to mention everything else. It was silent in the dark room for a few minutes, and then Ima came inside, her old face grim.

"Ima," Jennan said, reaching out to her. She knew Ima would tell her what had happened.

The woman came over and put a hand on Jennan's arm. "How are you feeling?"

"Confused!" Jennan cried. "Someone tell me what happened!"

Ima closed her eyes, then opened them again sadly. "You don't remember the past two days because you have been in here, asleep for most of the time. My dear, I'm just going to tell you like it is."

"Please do."

Ima closed her eyes again and put her stiff fingers on Jennan's hand. "Jennan, you miscarried your baby two nights ago."

Jennan sucked in a breath. "What?"

"I am so sorry, but it is the truth."

The tears that began sliding down Jennan's cheeks were beyond her control. "Nooo," she said, dragging the word out into quite a few syllables. She cried and mumbled to herself, and Ima tried to comfort her but failed.

Luckily, Matayo opened the door of the room and said, "Link's here."

"Thank goodness," Ima said, whirling out the door quickly after Matayo. Jennan sat by herself with her face in her hands, not even bothering to at least try to dry her tears. She was alone for quite a few minutes until she heard the door open again. She moved her hands from her face and was infinitely relieved to see Link sit down beside her. She let out an unwilling sob, and without either of them saying a word, she sat up as Link leaned over to her and slipped his arms around her. His clothes were cold, but they somehow felt warm to Jennan. She laid her head on his chest, and sobs shook her body. Obviously, Ima had told him what had happened. He pulled Jennan closer to him and his hand rested on the back of her head, over the hair that was loose and spilled over her shoulders. They stayed this way for so long that Link began to get numb, but Jennan fell asleep on his chest.

**-O-**

**Well, aren't they having a wonderful time... not. Again, apologies for the long time that this story wasn't up when it was supposed to be. I feel like crap right now because I'm sick, so if some strange things happened at the end of the story that weren't supposed to, I'll just blame it on my cold. Review, please!**


	14. Chapter 14

**It looks like a few of you great reviewers are really getting into this story, or at least I hope you are. Just to let you know, I don't plan to take this for too many more chapters, but there will be a sequel if you want one, so just tell me if you do or not.**

**-O-**

A week passed by with lots of snow and freezing cold, and a blizzard ripped through Altea and left the entire kingdom buried in a thick layer of white. The sides of the castle were plastered with thin snow from the winds of the storm, and the drawbridge was frozen shut and blocked by snow, so no one could enter or leave. The mote below was solid ice but could not even be seen under the thick piles of snow that covered it.

It was a beautiful view to be seen out the window, if one had a window that was not covered in ice, and especially Marth enjoyed the scenery outside, so silent and sparkling, and he spent most of his free time looking out his huge dwelling windows. He had allowed Gathan to join him in the room for now, and the man sat quietly against the wall in a high-backed chair with a few scrolls in his lap, one unrolled in his hands. Marth for the most part ignored him, but he was very aware of his advisor's shaking uncertainty.

The prince stood at the cold window and looked through the stained glass, his hands clasped behind him loosely under his long cloak. The Akaneans had not been spotted since their unexpected attack a week ago, but it was no secret that the people of Altea had been brought low with grief. So many innocent people had been murdered so suddenly and without cause that Marth and his father were still debating on whether or not to declare war on Akanea. Out of anger, Marth had suggested that it be done, but the king was taking more precautions and had not come to a decision yet.

Gathan rustled a scroll and stood up, cleared his throat, and approached Marth cautiously. "Highness, look at this here." He unrolled the scroll as far as possible and tapped the words on the papyrus with a finger. "These are some of Altea's war and battle records of the recent past, and present. Just look at it and tell me what you see."

Marth turned slowly, hands still behind his back, and glanced at the scroll. "I see what I already knew was there, Gathan. Do you think I'm unaware of what's going on around us?"

Gathan swallowed and shook his head. "No, sir. I just found it as my duty to remind you." He averted his eyes and looked down. "As you already know, Altea's most frequent battles are with Doluna, Akanea, and especially Hyrule. Though we have not had such personal trouble with Akanea for nearly fifty years, for some reason they are wishing to flare things up again. Perhaps it is because they see that we are already surrounded by foes, and they think it might be easy to bring Altea to her knees."

Marth raised his left eyebrow. "Interesting that you would notice that."

"Yes, sir, I have assisted your father the king many times in military battles, as well as in advice."

Marth tilted his head to the side, his bangs falling over to the right. "So, if you say Hyrule is our biggest rival, what do you think we should do about it?"

Gathan bowed a little and let the scroll roll up upon itself. "I think, sir, that it would be wise to at least try to arrange peace talks with the king and princess of Hyrule."

"You think that would help anything? They're liable to have their army attack us in the process. I don't trust anything they say, anyhow."

Gathan tossed the scroll back in the chair and rubbed his hands together to warm them. He said, "But there must be something done. Altea is under the threat of three seperate countries, and to say boldly, we are lucky to still be on the map at this point. Yes, sir, your armies are very powerful in strength and skill, especially when led by you, highness, but we are terribly outnumbered. If we can somehow arrange peace with Hyrule, we will have much better chance."

Marth brought his hands up to his face and massaged his forehead. He had yet another splitting headache and was not in the mood to think. He suddenly snapped, "Why are you telling this to me, instead of my father?"

Gathan looked taken-aback and blinked with surprise. "Highness, you are one day to be king. You must be prepared for that. And besides, as prince now, you already have the duty of commanding what goes on with your kingdom."

"I'm not in the mood for this, Gathan," Marth growled.

The advisor suddenly threw his hands into the air with frustration. "You are never in the mood to do what you must!" he exploded. "Ever since the war with Doluna, you have turned into a different person! It has ruined you!"

Silence followed for a very short moment, then Marth clenched a fist and made a move as if to knock the lights out of his advisor, then suddenly stopped and put a knuckle to his chin and tilted his head, as if in thought. Gathan swallowed hard, his Adam's apple quite visible and his eyes fearful. Marth turned away slowly, still thinking, and then finally spoke after the few minutes of terrible silence.

"All right then," he said quietly. The strange calmness in his voice scared Gathan. "Go ahead and arrange for a talk with Hyrule." The prince turned back around and dropped his hand slowly, a half-smile on his face. Gathan swallowed again.

"Yes, sir," he whispered. It would be no use to apologize for the sudden outburst a few moments ago. Though the young man he was talking with was only nineteen and more than fifteen years younger, he was still the prince, and not to mention downright intimidating. Grateful to go, Gathan bowed respectively and left the room.

**-O-**

To Jennan's despair, Beth returned to Carrickfergus, just as she had said she would. She brought Ness and her other slave with her, and also a little boy with blond hair and enormous green eyes, who seemed to be about the age of three at the most. He was Beth's brother, Peter.

"Why didn't we know we had another cousin?" Matayo asked.

"I was going to tell you on my last visit," Beth replied in her snippy voice, "but there were _some_ people who didn't want to hear it." Her eyes snapped over to Jennan, who glared back.

They were all in the house on one of the especially cold days, and Ima was baking bread in the oven in large amounts. Memnet and Matayo shared a look and rolled their eyes when no one was looking. Peter stood close against Beth's green skirts, staring up at everyone in the room with eyes that were too large for his face. Memnet tried to be friendly with him, but the little boy was timid and would not leave his sister's side.

"So how did you get here through this weather?" Matayo asked Beth, pulling out a chair for himself at the table. Ness helped Ima over at the fire.

"Oh, it wasn't as bad as you would think," Beth replied, flipping her hair. "I just mostly made my slaves blaze the trail for me."

Ness looked up with an annoyed look, as if she knew all too well, then looked back down to the oven. Jennan, who was sitting on the stairs, folded her arms over her knees and looked on stiffly. She had been quite grouchy to everyone for the past week, save for Link, and preferred to be alone more than not. It was the first day that she had really come out of her room for more than a few minutes, and unfortunately that was the day Beth showed up at the front door.

"Interesting," Matayo said, in response to Beth's last comment. It was obvious that he would have personally chosen some other way to get through the snow, but was not going to go as far as to say so. Jennan, on the other hand, was quite happy to go there for her brother.

"Don't you think that's uncalled for?" Jennan said dryly to her cousin.

"Oh, this comes from the girl who doesn't know the meaning of _slave_," Beth snapped back. She was completely oblivious to what Jennan had endured the week before, for no one had thought it her business.

"I know very well the meaning."

"As it appears so," Beth retorted sarcastically. "I remember how you were about that Hylian slave the last time I was here. How ridiculously you acted about him."

Jennan stood up angrily, and Matayo shot from his chair to prevent a possible oncoming fight. "All right," he scolded, "let's not start this again. There's no creek this time, now is there?" It was meant to be humerous, but no one was laughing, so he continued on. "Jennan, I think maybe you should go upstairs and... rest. I think that would be a good idea."

Jennan carried herself across the kitchen and whipped her shawl from its peg on the wall. "I don't want to go upstairs and I don't want to stay in here and put up with this," she snapped, yanking the shawl over her shoulders. "I'm going outside, and it would be nice if I could do so without being bothered." She went out the door and slammed it behind her.

The wind that had come in blew the fire around, but it soon straightened, and all was silent. Beth finally said rudely, "What's wrong with her?"

Ima looked up at Matayo as if to say, _Don't say anything_. She knew of the young man's tendancy to blurt things out without thinking, and Ima thought that it was really not for Beth to know, but Matayo did not see why he should not tell his cousin.

"She has had a bad week," he said, and Ima sighed irritably.

"And why's that?" Beth asked.

Matayo met Ima's piercing gaze and quickly changed his mind about telling. He just shrugged. Beth looked around the room. "What aren't you telling me?"

Ima finally pulled her angry eyes from Matayo and looked at Beth. "Miss, it is a long story."

Beth settled herself farther into her chair and put a hand on Peter's thin hair. "I have time, do I not?"

Memnet spoke up. "Matayo needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut." Her brother shrugged under her glare.

Outside, Jennan walked to the stable hurriedly. It was the place that she could almost always find Link, and when she came inside, sure enough he was there at work as always. The horses always had the best care, now that Link was the one taking care of them, and the stable itself was constantly in only the best shape. Artos helped sometimes, but it was mainly Link's job.

Link had told Jennan of his encounter with the Princess Zelda a week ago. At first Jennan had felt a stab of fear that Link was going to go back to Hyrule and leave her, but he assured her that he was not. Jennan nearly cried with the relief of it, but wondered deep down why he had changed his mind. She knew his whole story and heartache that he had had over Zelda three years ago- was that all done with? Had he given up on the princess permanently, even though he had met up with here again? As if Link could read Jennan's thoughts, he assured her that he loved her and that his heart was hers. It had been a very tender moment, and Jennan marvelled at her good fortune.

Now as she entered the stable, Link smiled when he saw her and threw his pitchfork into a pile of hay. Jennan closed the door behind her and came inside, instantly at ease. Link's very presence could always calm her in a second, and it was no different now. She went to him and opened her arms wordlessly, and he pulled her to him gently. He could tell that she was upset about something, and he massaged her back lightly. He leaned over, his mouth practically in her hair, and whispered, "What's wrong?"

His gentle and caring tone made Jennan want to cry with happiness. "It's not really anything," she replied, now wanting to forget about it altogether. But Link was not so easily giving up.

"It's got to be something, Jen." His fingers traced her shoulder blades.

"It's just that Beth's here again," she said. "I know she said that she was coming back, but it seemed to happen so quickly."

He laughed, very softly. "I knew it was something like that. Well, she won't stay long."

"Why not?"

Link tossed his hair away from his eyes and grinned. He had a cute, crooked grin, as if he was not used to smiling. "Because I can make sure of it."

Jennan couldn't help but smile back. "Oh, my hero," she said, only somewhat jokingly. "No, really- you _are_ my hero."

"I know," he replied with a fake haughtiness. He was so natrually not prideful that she thought it was attractive for him to fake it. He tilted her chin up and kissed her, and she relaxed. It felt so good and natural to share a kiss with him.

Link pulled back and looked down at her, his hands on her shoulders, and thought about his considering to propose to her. Just because of what happened with the baby did not make him want to ask her any less, just not as soon as he would have. He knew that she just recently turned sixteen, but there were many girls who were married at even a younger age than that. And when he did ask her, which he was not sure when that would be, he knew that it would bring Hades if he asked Dorobis, so he would do the next best thing- he would ask Matayo for his sister's hand. That was how it was done when a girl did not have a father; the man that wanted to marry her would ask for her of her older brother.

It seemed to be a flawless plan so far, but it was going to be easier said than done. It was not the most simple thing in the world to love a girl whose father hated you as a slave; in fact it was quite difficult. But Link was stubborn and could usually find some way to get what he wanted, if he tried hard enough, and it was not in his plan of things to fail this time. He was just not sure when he was going to try it.

**-O-**

Gathan had a good way with writing letters and somehow convinced the king and princess of Hyrule to come to Altea for peace talks. Marth had a doubt in his mind that it would bring nothing but more war, but there did not seem to be a reason to not give it a chance. His father warned him to keep his mouth shut and his eyes open, unless told otherwise. Marth was not pleased with this idea at first, but then realized that his father knew him better than he knew himself, for Marth seemed to have a way of messing up things with his words.

The meeting was set for the end of the week, and when the evening arrived, it was obvious that all of Altea was holding its breath. The royals and soldiers were worried that there might be some sort of attack, and the people of the kingdom were anxious to hear the result of the meeting when it happened. Marth could not wait for it to be over so he could get back into his usual routine, but at least he only had to endure one night of it.

The room the king chose for the meeting had a high ceiling and marble floors, with huge pillars lining the walls that were only really for looks, rather than holding up the roof. A long, polished dining table was in the exact middle of the room, with lit candles and glasses of red wine. Chairs were at every place of the table, but only four would be occupied that night, for the guards were to take their places at the doors of the room and not interrupt the meeting.

When the evening arrived, the king and Marth, with a few of their guards and Gathan, were ready at the table. The king sat at the head of the table in the chair that was so extravagant that it was nearly another throne, and Marth sat in the more plain chair directly to his left. The massive doors of the room were wide open, ready for the king and princess of Hyrule to enter any moment. Gathan stood in a far corner of the room, there to listen to what was said but to say nothing himself, so he could advise Marth on the matter later.

Footsteps sounded in the hall, and then two guards came through the open doorway. Behind them came two armed Hylian guards, followed by the king and the beautiful blonde princess. As they slowly entered the room, Marth and his father respectfully rose from their chairs. All four guards, Hylian and Altean, took their places against the wall, and the king and princess came forward slowly and bowed slightly. Though it was their country and their castle that this meeting was being held, Marth and his father made it a point to bow in return.

Marth had made sure to remove all weapons from himself before coming to the room. It would not be seemly for a to come to a peace-talk meeting with a sword on his person. The Hylian royalty did not seemed to be armed either, and as they were introduced, Marth discovered with interest that the princess's given name was Zelda. The name was catchy, and Marth liked the sound of it.

As the two kings held a short, friendly conversation, Marth and the princess overlooked one another. Zelda stood regally beside the table with the stance of a queen, her expression independent and serious, her head held high. Marth surveyed her with his usual look, a thin mouth and a raised eyebrow, but otherwise expressionless. She tilted her chin up and looked down her thin nose back at him. Her dress was certainly fit for a princess, made of only the best and most expensive foreign materials, and her crown was gold-plated and embedded with colorful jewels. From her pointed ears hung shining earrings, and her eyes were painted with a dark black around the lashes. She looked to be about eighteen years old or so, and Marth realized that this was the first time in months that he had really noticed anything in the such great detail that he was noticing her.

Marth's father bid everyone to sit down, and the guards by the door relaxed. Marth made sure to let the princess sit down before he sat himself, for a woman was always supposed to be seated before a man. The Hylian king sat on Marth's father's right, and Zelda directly beside him, thus seating Marth across from the foreign king and the princess across and to his left. He wished that she was sitting in her father's place, so he could get a better look at her without blatantly staring, though doing that had never really bothered him before.

Princess Zelda still had her head held high, but behind her look of pride seemed to be something resembling pain. She was not wilfully letting it show, but Marth somehow detected it. Anya would be thrilled to know that he was actually observing something with interest, the first time since the war with Doluna.

"It is in my mind that there must somewhere come an end to the rivalry between our two countries," Zelda's father said when everyone was in their places. "It has been going on between us for decades. I hope tonight will bring us peace."

Marth's father replied, "Yes, we must find some way to bring this violence to an end."

Marth quickyl stopped listening. His father had told him to keep his eyes open, and that's exactly what he was doing; his gaze seemed to be permanantly on Zelda. She glanced back at him every now and then, and a look of discomfort eventually came to her face. Little did she know, when something caught Marth's attention, he had a habit of staring. Right then he did not think that it was wrong for him to be doing this, for this was the princess of one of his rival countries, and she must not know what to think about his staring at her. For all she knew, he could be plotting to drive a dagger through her throat.

The two kings held up the talks between theirselves, and saying nothing, Zelda reached for a wine glass. She touched the rim to her lips, then for some reason changed her mind and set it back on the shining table. Her blue eyes traveled to the small burning flame of a candle in front of Marth and rested there. If the flame had not been there, it would have seemed that she was staring at Marth's chest. She had an air about her that appeared to be sad, or somewhat depressed. Marth did not like it; she was too beautiful to be sad that way.

Marth could feel Zelda's guards keeping a close eye on him, and he turned his head and gave them a dirty look. They saw it but gave no expression in return. The conversation between the kings had been going well so far, but suddenly there was a hint of anger in the voices. Marth quickly listened to what they were saying.

"It is not only my country who has attacked yours," the Altean king said. "It has gone both ways."

"Of course that is true," Zelda's father replied. "Though I wish it were not so; there is no need for this anymore."

"Agreed. But we must admit that there has been at least _some_ peace between us through the years."

Unexpectedly, Zelda spoke up. Her eyes flashed to the Altean king. "The parents of one of my friends were killed in an Altean raid. I do not call that peace."

Marth ran his tongue over his lower lip. So she was feisty as well. But did she not know that that was just the way wars went?

"Miss," Marth's father said carefully, "if we can all come to an agreement tonight, I hope that these things will all be behind us soonly."

Zelda was still not afraid to meet the king's gaze. "I am for peace. I just do not forget the things that have happened in the past."

"Nor do I."

Marth was watching with interest. This princess was just as stubborn as himself- which was a rare thing to see.

"Not that I'm saying that I'm holding a grudge," Zelda continued. "This thing happened over fifteen years ago. There is nothing to be done about it now, I know."

"The only thing that we can do," her father chimed in, "is come to a solution."

Zelda finally looked down at the table. "Father, I cannot say that I'm quite ready to sign a peace agreement yet. Too much has happened."

Her father sighed and looked at the other king. "I can't do anything if my daughter, future queen of Hyrule, does not wish for the thing."

Marth had been told to stay silent, but he ignored the order. "Are you saying that you don't want peace?" he challenged.

"No, young prince," the rival king replied. "I imagine that that is what we all want; I just cannot do it without my daughter's consent."

It seemed like a logical saying. But the talking, debating, and sometimes arguing went on for quite a long time. Marth finally entertained himself with watching the flickering of the flames on the candles, and Zelda's movements. She ignored him for the most part, but he saw her glance at him out of the corner of her eye every now and then. As the discussion between the two kings went on, their heirs were quiet but listening closely. Zelda glanced at Marth afer awhile, and a small frown etched between her eyebrows, but Marth just raised an eyebrow and continued to stare at her, his chin in his hand. She looked away, then glanced back a few minutes later, to discover that nothing had changed. She shifted uncomfortable in her chair and tossed her long blonde hair back. Finally, she changed her way of going about things and smiled slightly at him, as if that would make him look somewhere else, but he did not move, even to smile back. She sniffed and titled her pretty chin up and closed her eyes. Marth had not felt this way for months; something actually had caught his attention, and held it.

It was obvious that the discussion was leaning towards the signing of a peace agreement, but the Hylian king would not do it if his daughter was not willing to. Marth at last moved and picked up a wineglass. The wine burned his throat, but he had drank it before and had gotten used to it after awhile. He had never really had enough to get out-and-out drunk, because he could not stand to drink that much of it.

A few end words decided that the peace talks were over. The kings rose from the table and bowed to each other while shaking hands, the Hylian king saying, "We will inform you of our decision later, for we do want peace, but I cannot tell you yet." Marth stood from his chair in sync with Zelda, who now had her eye on him. They stepped away from the table to join their fathers, and now that she could see all of him, she looked him over thoroughly. He felt her eyes on him but did not return the gaze. He could not help but think that she was very interesting; perhaps a miracle happened and she thought the same about him.

He had to kiss her hand now- it was customary when bidding a woman farewell. She had obviously been expecting it, for she held up her hand when he reached for it. He grasped her thin fingers lightly, but kept his eyes locked with hers as he kissed the back of her hand. Maybe it was the way that he was looking at her, but she suddenly had the air of ebarrassment around her. She plucked her hand away and took her place beside her father, her head held high and her back straight. Marth noticed that she was very nicely shaped.

When all of the bowing and hand-shaking was over, the Hylian king and princess were escorted from the room. Marth's father mumbled something to himself, then followed his guards out a small door at the back of the room, and Marth was left in the room by himself.

That night, long after the rival king and princess were gone, Marth was in his dwelling in deep thought. He lay back on his bed with many thoughts swirling through his head, many possibilities. He had not thought and planned this hard for a long time now, for he had been knocked back into reality today without even being spoken to. In his opinion, Princess Zelda was enough to cure even the worst of depression.

Marth had finally reached his decision, after hours of pondering on it. He got up from the bed, taking care to put his weight on his good knee when stepping down. He was across the room in only a few strides, and he unlocked his dwelling doors and swung them open without any thought to being quiet. The halls were empty, save for the lone guard who was posted outside the prince's doors. Marth ignored him and made his way down the hall, the bottom of his cloak brushing the marble floor as he went. He made sure to keep his walk slow and authorative, and two servant girls who were standing under the light of a torch on the wall bowed low when they saw him. He ignored them as well and continued on. Royalty was a very complicated thing; had he passed the girls and they had not bowed, he would have not ignored them. He would have demanded to know why they disrespected him; but when they did bow down, he did not commend them for doing it. It was just the way things went.

There was another set of doors at the end of the hall, but there was a guard posted here to open them for the people who passed by. The man mumbled, "Your highness," and dipped his head slightly as he opened the door. Marth passed through and entered the throne room, a high-ceilinged room with a half-circle of pillars around the thrones. Armed guards were everywhere here, for the king spent a lot of his time just sitting on his royal throne when idle. The queen's throne, which was directly beside the king's, had been empty for years. Someone once asked the king why he did not marry again and get another queen, and the king had replied, "Because I leave the kingdom to Prince Marth before long, and it will be his queen upon the throne."

Marth came down the few stairs that dipped down into the circle of cut-out floor that was before the throne, his eyes on his father the king. Everyone, servants and guards, seemed to be watching the prince, all breath held. Marth's father was a very unpredictable person. If the king happened to be in a bad mood when someone approached him, it would be immediate death to that person if the king did not hold out his sceptre. It was a pointless thing, really, just something to excercise the king's power, but it was a deadly and serious thing. It was why the king was seldom approached this way.

Marth ascended a couple of the steps that went up to the platform of the throne and waited. He did not have much fear that his father would let him die. There was a line of guards placed behind the king's royal seat, and if so many minutes passed without the raising of the sceptre, they were to put their weapons to work, or drag the person off the be killed. When Marth was younger, he had heard that his father had let a few of his most trusted servants die, merely because he had not been in the mood to listen to what they had to say.

A few silent seconds passed, and then the king raised the sceptre to his son. As customary, Marth reached out and touched the top of the golden sceptre, an act of acknowledging the king's power. The king's advisors were close beside the throne, but they moved away when Marth ascended the rest of the steps. The prince slowly dropped down to his good knee, his hands on the armrest of the throne; another required action of the situation. It was not for the one who deliberately approached the king to stand while their king sat, even if it was the prince.

"What is it that you wish, my prince?" the king said at last.

Marth rested his forehead on the armrest of the throne, then lifted his head. "I have something for my father the king to hear."

"Do we have danger in Altea?" the king asked with alarm.

"Nothing like that, Father."

The man studied his son for a moment. "You seem to be in high spirits tonight. Was it the wine?"

"No, sir." Marth tilted his head to the side. "It will be the good-doing of Altea, if you let it be so."

"Rise and tell me."

Marth stood slowly, his cloak falling around the back of him. "If you give me your permission to contact the princess of Hyrule... I know the perfect way to bring decades of peace to our two kingdoms."

**-O-**

Unexpectedly during the evening meal one night, Dorobis declared that he was going to hold a masquerade the next day. Memnet, Jennan, and Matayo looked at him in confusion, then at each other, frozen in mid-move. Since when did their father do anything unexpected such as this, and something that was not sinister? But Dorobis announced it as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Father, may I ask why...?" Matayo trailed off.

"Can't a man hold a masquerade without it being such a strange thing?"

Jennan had a million questions that she wanted to ask, but it would be unwise to ask their father anything. He seemed to be eternally angry at Jennan and hardly ever even looked at her, no less answered her questions. She hoped that Matayo or Memnet happened to ask something that would give her an answer.

Beth, who was seated besided Memnet, dropped her fork and put her hands together in delight. "It sounds like a wonderful idea! I haven't been to a party in months." Though the rest of them had _never_ been to a party such as a masquerade.

Dorobis leaned back in his chair. "I have already invited the guests, including your aunt from Barrack." He seemed to look at Jennan as he said this, and she stabbed her fork into her plate and looked away. "All of them should arrive in the late afternoon."

And most of them did. Jennan got up early, but the guests did not begin arriving until the afternoon. The house was really not big enough, so most of the men went down across the pasture to Dorobis' dwelling. Jennan put on her best dress, a dark purple trimmed with red, and Memnet helped her fix her hair, put up in the usual way but this time with wavy ringlets hanging down. Memnet looked very striking herself- she actually had her hair up for once.

"I saw some of the guests earlier," Jennan said as her sister twisted her black hair. "There were a lot of young men."

Memnet teased, "Hopefully Link doesn't find out that you noticed." She handed Jennan one of the black feathed eye masks, which had once been their mother's a long time ago. It was customary at a masquerade to conceal your identity, or at least wear a mask.

"I meant for _you_." Jennan smiled and put the mask in place. It matched the color of her hair.

"Me? Oh, you know that I don't have any interest for a man right now."

"I didn't either, until Link came."

"Yes, you were lucky." Memnet put on her mask. "But it would take someone very special to catch my attention."

But as the day wore on, Jennan noticed a certain young man who seemed to have his eye on Memnet, though her sister either did not notice or just pretended that she did not. Jennan could not really tell what the young man looked like, for he had a mask over his eyes as well, but he seemed to be around Memnet a lot. Jennan wanted to tell her sister to talk to him, but then the party officially started and there was no open moment.

Jennan had informed Link of the masquerade the night before, and since Dorobis had not invited the slaves, Link stayed in the stable most of the time. He also had a disliking of large crowds in small spaces, so Jennan unfortunately did not expect to see him for the rest of the night.

Their aunt Olivia, the one from Barrack, arrived in the evening with two female escorts. Jennan had to admit that her aunt looked very pretty tonight, but she knew the woman to have a short and snippy personality. She also had an air about her that told that she thought of herself highly; more than she ought to think. It was not even that she was wealthy or anything unusual. Well, she _was_ Dorobis' sister.

Ima had prepared a lot of food for the party, and the entire kitchen table was covered with it. When Jennan came inside from the cold for a drink, she felt sorry for the old woman and offered to help.

"In that dress?" Ima exclaimed, though gratefully. "No, Jennan, I'll take care of it all. It gives me something to do."

Jennan eyed the glasses of sparkling drink on the table. "I want to try the champagne," she declared. She had never tasted it before and had always wondered what it was like.

Ima sighed and looked around as if to make sure no one was looking, though the two of them were alone in the house, and then agreed. "But just taste it. I don't want you getting drunk on it or anything," she teased. So Jennan tasted it, and when it burned her nose and stomach, put it back and had no intention of trying it again, and Ima laughed at her.

Outside in front of the house, where there was a wide open circle of space, the dance was going to be held. It was strange to see so many nice clothes and masked faces in the front yard, lit by firelight, but Jennan did not mind it. It was interesting for something out of the ordinary such as this to be happening at their house. Two men were playing stringed instruments that provided the slow waltz music, and a woman joined in on a harp. Jennan came outside and sat herself down out of the way on the porch steps and watched the elegant dancers in front of her. Most of the other people who were not dancing were standing on the porch and conversing with each other, and more than once a young man came up to Jennan and asked her to dance, but soon left when she refused them. She had alread told herself that if Link was not going to be attending the party, that she would dance with no man but Matayo.

If there was anyone who seemed to be enjoying themselves too much, it was Beth. She danced with any man who asked her, young or not, and obviously liked every minute of it. When she and her partner whirled by Jennan, Beth gave her cousin a defiant look, as if she thought that Jennan was not dancing because no one had asked her. For a moment Jennan had the mind to tell Beth that that was not the case, but then decided that it was a ridiculous thing in the first place, and it would be senseless to argue it. She suddenly did not care what Beth thought.

Dorobis danced with two women- Olivia his sister and a strange blonde woman that Jennan did not know. He was actually with the latter most of the time, and Jennan was beginning to wonder that it might be one of the reasons that her father had thrown this party. Maybe he had met this woman on one of his trading journeys and liked her. It was strange to think that Dorobis liked anything; everyone said that since his wife's death years ago, he had turned into a different person, though that was the only way Jennan knew her father.

The blonde woman was very pretty, and she could waltz very well. Jennan was unnerved to see her father actually smile and laugh- something she had hardly ever seen in her entire life. Mabye it was just the effects of too much champagne in his body, but she doubted it. He only smiled like that when he was with that woman, and Jennan was interested to find out who she was. Had Jennan and her father had a normal father/daughter relationship, she would have felt a twinge of jealousy, but since they did not, she did not feel it. She only felt annoyed that her father thought it all right to like someone, but acted as if it were wrong for Jennan to.

Memnet suddenly appeared beside her, her brown hair shining. She looked good in her black mask. "No one asked you to dance?" she asked quizically.

"Yes, I just don't want to," Jennan said, folding her hands in her lap. "Unless Matayo gets over here and gets some manners."

Memnet smiled. "I'll make sure to tell him."

Jennan's eye fell back through the crowd to their waltzing father. "Who is that woman that father's dancing with?"

Memnet picked up her pretty skirts and stepped up onto a higher step to see over the heads of the other people. "I don't know," she replied, her forehead forming a frown behind her mask.

Jennan was going to pursue the topic further, but the young man that seemed to have his eye on Memnet appeared beside them. He was tall and thin, but his face was hidden by his mask and shadows. He offered his hand to Memnet. "Would you like to dance?"

Memnet swallowed and looked down at her sister, as if asking for advice. Jennan smiled and nodded once, and Memnet turned and took the young man's hand, and then they were off and waltzing with the rest. Out of the corner of her eye, Jennan noticed Artos in the shadow of the firelight by the porch, and he almost looked pained when Memnet accepted the invitation.

Link was watching the whole party from the stable door. Now that it was winter, the trees had lost their leaves and it made the view of the house from the stable much easier, and he took advantage of it. It was just as well that he was not permitted to attend, for he hated large crowds, and besides, he had never learned how to dance. It was much easier to stand back and watch from here.

Rhashidi had joined him a few minutes ago, and they both stood as dark outlines against the lantern light that filled the stable. The wolf-boy was silent, save for when he would every now and then sniff the air and force it back out through his nose, and Link was comfortable with this arrangement. Neither of them were much for talking, but he also wanted to keep his attention on the dance, just in case he missed anything. He saw Jennan on the porch steps and saw various young men come and converse with her. Link could not hear what they were saying, but when Jennan smiled and shook her head and the young men left her, he figured that they had been asking her to dance with them. And no wonder. She was a beautiful girl with an attractive air about her. No wonder the boys liked her.

And Link could relate to that, but on a higher level. He had _liked_ Jennan when he had first starting talking to her and they were still strangers to each other, but he had loved her after he had gotten to know her. She was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside, and Link was glad that he knew it well. Yes, they had done some stupid things, and Link still felt bad over their baby that they had lost, but he and Jennan were trying their best to get past it. Link actually felt more badly about it than he had let on, for he was not one to just blurt out what he was feeling, but he knew that Jennan did not want to think about it anymore.

Link had made it a deliberate point to stay far away from Dorobis. The man was violent sometimes, especially when he was angry, and he seemed to be angry all the time for the past couple of weeks. Link knew that the man hardly ever talked to Jennan anymore, as if he was trying to guilt her into stop loving Link.

For some reason, Dorobis had not tried even once to take the Master Sword back. Link kept it with him almost all the time and had killed no one yet, so maybe the man saw no reason for it; or he was afraid to take it. Link was usually a very gentle person, but he could be harshly intimidating if he wanted to be, and it was no secret that he could fight and kill. But Link also had the feeling that Dorobis had it in his mind that he would not have to worry about the Hylian slave anymore, for the man's plan was still to sell him to his sister. Since there had been no direct advances over the situation, Link had not decided yet what he would do about it, but he would have to decide more quickly than he had thought.

Something caught his eye, on the other side of the moving dancers. When Link looked closer, he discovered that it was Dorobis and his sister Olivia talking between theirselves, close together as if what they were saying was for no one else to hear. They kept glancing over at the stables, conversed some more, then glanced back again. Link suddenly felt a chill, but it was not from the cold. Olivia passed something to Dorobis, they motioned towards the stables, and then they shook hands firmly.

Link had no doubt as to what had just happened, though he could hear nothing that had been said. It was obvious that Olivia had finally accepted her brother's offer of his Hylian slave, but Link did not plan to go along with it that easily. If he was now under Olivia's name, that meant she would want him to go with her when she left in a few hours, and Link was just not going for it. He did not not really want to create a scene with his refusal, for he was sure that most of these people at the masquerade were slave-traders theirselves, but he was ready to do what it took.

Rhashidi seemed to sense Link's sudden change in mood, and his ears tilted back uncertainly. "What?" he asked bluntly, but Link did not answer the question, for Dorobis and Olivia were approaching the stable.

"Rhashidi," Link said slowly, "don't do anything unless I give you the word."

Rhashidi tensed, and an involuntary growl escaped his throat. At a wave of Link's hand, he backed off into the woods. Olivia and Dorobis were quite close now, and for a moment Link was unsure whether he should turn and leave or fight. But he decided to stand firm and face whatever was going to be brought his way, though he pretty much already knew what it was going to be.

"I'm sure I don't have to explain to you what's going on," Dorobis snapped at Link when they got close. "My sister's bought you from me, and that means you go with her when she leaves tonight."

Should he make an argument? He was totally unsure at what to do, but suddenly Jennan was there standing beside him. Though it was a strange time to make an observation such as this, Link noticed that she smelled good.

"What are you doing?" she asked her father directly.

"I am giving Olivia what is rightfully hers," Dorobis boasted, and seized Link's wrist. Link's fist immediately clenched and his arm natrually tensed up. If this went on for long, Dorobis was about to have the fight of his life.

"No," Jennan said seriously, a boldness in her voice that Link had never heard before. "You're not just getting rid of him."

"Who are you to say that? You have no authority over what goes on with this."

Jennan pulled her mask off angrily. Olivia looked confused at the whole situation. "You don't have any either. You just think that you do."

Link made an attempt to free his wrist, but Dorobis held tight. One more second of this, and Link had enough. "If you've sold me over to her," he said to Dorobis, "then that means I can do _this_." On the last word, his free fist came up and smashed Dorobis across the jaw with all the strength he had, and the man quickly let go and staggered backward. Olivia's hands shot to her mouth, and a few other people noticed the commotion stopped dancing, and soon the music ceased. Dorobis gathered his composure, but suddenly Artos and Matayo were there beside Link, a sign to their father that they would fight against him if they had to. Link still had his fists clenched, and he narrowed his eyes at Dorobis challengingly. Everyone in the small group knew that if the man threw a punch, Link and the two friends that had just shown up to help him would put up a hard fight, and not to mention Rhashidi would launch himself from the woods in an attack. Dorobis was well aware of this, and after glaring at Matayo and Jennan for acting like traitors to him, he backed off a few steps.

"Don't think that anything has changed," he growled, touching the trail of blood that ran from his mouth. "One punch does not change the fact that you are a slave." He glared at Link.

An idea suddenly swirled in Jennan's head, and she rushed past everyone into the stable. She grabbed the reins of Olivia's horse, which was already tacked up, and mounted as quickly as she could, which was not easy in the dress she was wearing. There was no time to ride side-saddle, so she straddled the horse and was out the door in a few thundering steps. She yanked the horse to a stop outside and glared down at her father. "We'll see what changes this situation." Her angry brown eyes flashed to her aunt. "And you don't do anything until I get back." She had specifically chosen her aunt's horse, so the woman could not leave Carrickfergus. Of course, she could just take one of Dorobis' horses, but it was unlikely.

"Where are you going?" Matayo exclaimed.

"Nevermind," Jennan said. She looked down at Link and tried to give him a reassuring look. "Don't let them do anything to you until I get back."

Link desperately wanted to ask questions, but there was no time. He had trained Jennan well when it came to horseback riding, for she gave the brown horse a sharp kick and was soon thundering off across the plantation. Link called for Rhashidi, who quickly emerged from the woods. Link stared off after Jennan and said, "Rhashidi, I don't know what she's got planned. But follow her."

**-O-**

**Well, Jennan sure does have something up her sleeve, and so does Marth. Review it, please.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Again I thank all of you for the reviews, woot woot!!**

**-O-**

In the royal castle of Hyrule, Princess Zelda tried to occupy her mind by busying herself with the rearranging of her huge walk-in closet. It was usually the affair of one of the servant girls, but it was something that Zelda wanted to do herself tonight; she had to have her hands doing something, otherwise she might go mad. But even as she took out the beautiful dresses, smoothed them out, and put them back in again later, it was still quite possible to think. And she did not want to think- it hurt too much.

Everyone in the castle knew that the princess was deeply bothered, but only a few of them knew why, such as some of the servants that were close to her, but especially the king. Zelda had come home from Barrack and told her father all the things that had happened to her there, saving the part about finally meeting up with Link for last. When she had finished the story, silenced followed, for her father knew of her love for Link and probably felt her pain. That is how close Zelda was with her father.

"It's my fault," Zelda had told him the night of her return. "If I would have just let him come with me when he had asked in the first place, none of this would have happened. But now we've been apart from each other for three years, and he has found someone else." Zelda had paused here before continuing on. "I have no bitterness towards the girl for it, or to Link- I only blame myself for being a fool."

"You were concerned for Link's safety, my dear. We were in great danger in those times."

The words had done nothing to comfort Zelda. Since when was danger anything to Link? He had faced it all the time, and probably still did. He had fought for Zelda many times, rescued her from terrible things. And this is how she repaid him for it.

Now, as the princess took out another long dress and laid it upon her bed, the situation seemed to be eating her mind alive. She blamed no one but herself, but refused to drown in the pity. She was a princess that had important things to do; but she could feel sorrow for the present moment, at least.

At one point she told herself that she was being ridiculous. It was not as if Link had died. But as bad as Zelda felt, it was as if he had. He had died to her, anyway, or at least mostly. The two of them had not always gotten along so well, for around when they first met, they disagreed a lot and sometimes even argued, but Zelda knew that Link was pure of heart and that things would not always be that way; and they had not. Now Zelda could not decide whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. If they had remained only friends, this would not hurt so badly now.

But what to do about it now? Obviously, there was nothing but to get over, and that would take awhile. One does not merely 'get over' someone they love, and Zelda knew this. And if Link's girl was with child, then that meant that he would probably marry her, and that would be the end of it. Zelda's stress caused her the urge to tear her hair out.

She had heard from someone that the girl had miscarried the child, but that was probably nothing but rumor. How would anyone way out here in Hyrule know of things that happened in Carrickfergus? And besides, even if the thing was true, it would probably not matter. Link seemed serious about this girl, and Zelda knew that he always stuck with things.

It pained her to know him so well and yet have him in love with someone else. She wondered if he still loved her at all, if he had any room in his heart. Zelda had been so overjoyed to meet up with him again in that one nameless city that she had not even thought of the possibility that he might have found someone else; but she had to admit that she could immediately tell that something was different when Link had hesitated when she had kissed him. Zelda felt like kicking herself for that as well. What a fool she was!

Zelda was a very stressed young woman at this point. These things concerning Link were pressing on her mind, Hyrule was on bad terms with Altea and she was unsure whether she was ready for a peace agreement yet, and now the whole castle was weighed down by her depression. If the princess was unhappy, everyone was unhappy.

Zelda sat down with a long dress in her lap, her hands twisting the fabric anxiously. She did not know how much more of this she could take. She just wanted to sleep, or cry, or scream-

The door of her dwelling opened slowly. Zelda looked up and quickly composed herself, ready to look like a proud princess for whichever servant it was, but was relieved to see that it was her father the king who entered. She pushed the dress aside and went to him, and he caught her in a hug. Their relationship was not based mostly on their royal ranks; their greetings to one another involved no bowing or groveling, for they were too close for that. They were on the terms of a normal father and daughter that were close, despite their royal blood.

"What troubles you, my dear?" the king asked with concern, his hand stroking his daughter's long hair.

Zelda's arms were still around his neck, but there were no tears on her face. She had never really been one to cry. "I am thinking of what a fool I am, Father. I have messed up things badly."

"Dear," he replied gently, pushing her back and taking her left hand, "you have the mark of the Triforce of Wisdom. How then is it that you can be foolish?"

"I feel as if I disgrace that mark, Father."

The king patted the back of her hand, where the mark of the three triangles was concealed under her glove. "You cannot disgrace destiny. It is just not possible, Zelda. Even if something happens that seems very bad to you, you must keep in mind that it may have been meant to happen." He paused. "Like perhaps you are not meant to be with Link for the rest of your life."

Zelda sucked in a long breath and held it. "That is how I always pictured it. It just seems so wrong that it can't be that way."

"I know, my dear. But it is not your fault. Even if it does not seem like it now, I strongly believe that you were meant to deny Link to come with you that day."

Zelda closed her eyes and gripped her father's arms tightly. "Father... after I left, he was in so much despair that he was fixed to drown himself. So now he must really love this other girl."

"I am sorry, my dear."

She hugged him again. "I'll be all right. I just hope that Link plans on coming to visit me sometimes."

But she did not feel all right. Later on that night when she went to the bathhouse and was settled into the scented water and deep flower petals, she wondered if her depression would eventually eat her alive. It sure did feel like it. A maidservant came over and poured a vase full of more flower petals into the water, and Zelda sank down deeper. The bath was built in the ground, to where the top of it was level with the floor around it. Zelda thought it was like being in waterhole, only it smelled much better.

"How is the princess tonight?" the girl asked, bowing slightly.

"Well enough, I suppose. Thank you."

The girl put down the vase to picked up a palm branch and began fanning slowly. Zelda leaned back to where the water and orange petals were up to her neck and forced herself to relax. She could not walk around in depression forever. Not only was she a princess that had other affairs to tend to, but just as a person she needed to stop this. It did not mean that she was going to stop feeling bad or stop loving and missing Link, but she must accept the way things were. For if she did not, she would go crazy. So right there she decided to shake off her depression and try to be positive.

The servant girl paused her fanning to pour the princess a glass of sparkling cider. Zelda thanked her and took a sip. She had to admit that it was very good- a step down from the usual customary wine. Zelda secretly hated wine, especially red. For some reason other people drank it on a regular basis, but to her it was the most awful thing she had ever tasted.

"It's good tonight," Zelda said as the girl picked up the fan again. She liked to pay compliments to her subjects, for she hated when royatly treated their servants badly. She had made a promise to herself long ago that she would never do that.

"Thank you, highness," the girl said, tossing her brown hair back. "I made it myself."

Zelda tilted the glass at her in another silent compliment and then lifted the glass to her lips. Hurried feminine footsteps sounded in the hallway, and then another servant entered the room quickly. She held something white in her hands, and she approached the princess while bowing respectfully. The girl seemed to be nervous.

"The king received this letter, and after reading, requested that you read it as well," the girl said shakily. She probably did not know what the letter said, for it was not seemly for a servant to read the king's mail, but she seemed as if she might know something about it at least. Zelda dried her hands, then took the letter from the girl. Upon glancing at the front of it, she realized with surprise that it was directly from the royal castle of Altea. The seal that her father had broken had the official printed mark of the Altean king's signet ring, which confirmed it as authentic.

Zelda had the mind to send back letter that said she was not in the mood for more peace talks, and she slipped her fingers inside the fancy envelope and removed the contents. She paused to take another drink, then opened the crisp white paper. After reading silently for a few moments, a shock suddenly went through her that nearly caused her to spew her cider. She sat up quickly, though making sure to keep most of herself in the water, and sucked in a breath.

The girl with the palm branch stopped fanning. "Bad news, princess?"

Zelda sat frozen and quickly caught herself before accidentally dropping the paper into the water. "I... I don't know. I'm not sure yet." She fell back again in surprise and just stared at the elegant inked words. She would have expected anything before expecting this.

"If it please the princess," the shaky girl said carefully, "may it be that you tell us what it is?"

Zelda blinked slowly, still in shock. "It's a... it is a _marriage_ proposal from the prince of Altea. The king is asking for my hand on the behalf of his son."

Silence followed. Apparently the servant girls were as unsure at what to think as the princess was. Zelda breathed deeply and made herself think. She had not had any plans of getting married anytime soon, but here this was thrown up in her face so suddenly. She had only met Prince Marth once, and though he had not said much, Zelda could tell that he had a hot temper and a haughty mind. But he was nice to look at and seemed to be sure of himself, as if one day ruling an entire country would be easy. Zelda had never thought of it that way; she had been kind of afraid when she would take over the throne of Hyrule. For a moment she actually let in a thought of saying yes to this proposal- looking at the bigger picture, that would form a strong alliance and end the confrontation between their two countries. Which was probably Prince Marth's plan. Zelda knew of Altea's strong army, and had heard that Prince Marth was very good in the ways of war, despite his youth, and he could handle a battle well. That would be a good thing for Hyrule, if she was to accept this, for linking Altea and Hyrule together by royal marriage would nearly form a single country between them. How powerful Hyrule would be!

But then again she was thinking of other things, more personal things. She had had no wish or thought to be married before she saw this letter. In fact she had almost never considered it. She was a very independent person and could not imagine being subject to a man, no less a future king. She knew of all the things that came with marriage, but she decided that she could consider herself lucky. Most young princesses were usually stuck with marrying a man that was much older than she, so old he was usually grey, but Zelda knew that Prince Marth was at least nineteen.

The prince was very skilled with the sword, which secretly impressed Zelda, for she obviously liked swordsmen, and was youthful, strong, and good-looking. But she knew almost nothing of his personality or preferences. Did he have concubines? That was something that had always annoyed Zelda about royal men, including her father. But what was she supposed to do, write back a letter that said 'Do you have concubines"? That would not make any sense.

Zelda wondered what it would be like to be the princess of two countries. And when Prince Marth's father crowned his son king, that would make Zelda a queen. She liked the thought of it but was still unsure. Her head hurt and she did not feel like thinking, but her thoughts soon travelled to Link. If he had chosen this other girl for himself, Zelda could choose someone else as well.

Zelda folded the letter and slipped it back into the envelope. The servants were looking at her questioningly. "All right, then," Zelda said on a good-natured note. "Take this back to my father. Oh, and have him to write back to Altea... and tell the prince that I accept his proposal."

**-O-**

Jennan rode hard all day and for as long as she could take it, but by evening was tired and ready to get off. She had never known that it hurt so bad to ride like a man until now. Her legs were killing her, and the insides of her thighs felt bruised. And she had left Carrickfergus in such a rush that she was still wearing her best dress and still had her masquerade mask tied around her wrist. She pulled back on the reins and halted the horse, then gladly slid off to the ground, jerking her skirts off after her. She could have at least changed dresses before she went.

But oh well. Even if this one was ruined in the end, it would probably be worth it. She was on an eight-day journey, at the least, and it was cold and she had forgotten to bring a coat or shawl. Snow had already started falling more than once during the day, but her adrenaline had blocked it out. Now that she was tired and weary, the cold seemed to seep through to her bones.

Her destination was Hyrule. Her idea appeared to be a little perposterous, but it was worth a try. The plan was to go directly to the Hylian princess and tell her the current situation of Link. Jennan was very unsure at what the outcome could be, because the princess might be insanely jealous and could demand that Jennan be beheaded on the stop. It was a very stupid thought, but you never know. As far as what Link had told her, the princess Zelda was a very fair and generous person.

Jennan was certainly not personally going to rub it in Zelda's face, as if to say 'I have him and you don't'. That was ridiculously childish, and Jennan was prepared to go groveling if she had to- definintely not boasting. She was unsure if this was going to work or not, but she was desperate to try it. If she did not, Link might be sold to her aunt Olivia and never seen again. Of course, Jennan was not a quitter. If Link was sold over in the end, Jennan would just follow and come up with another plan later. But she did not want Link to be a slave any longer, and she remembered her promise that she had made to him a long time ago- that she would somehow free him. Of course, _somehow _was much easier said than done.

Link was strong and independent enough to free himself, but for some reason he had not tried. But Jennan knew the reason, and it made her feel guilty. Link did not want to raise Hades by trying to escape and kill his chances of ever seeing her again. In other words, he was basically still in slavery for her.

So that was one of the reasons why she was so fixed on freeing him. Even if he was not doing it for her, she still loved him and would want him free regardless, and she knew he wanted it to, though he never spoke of it. She knew him well and was sure that he almost never complained about anything, so she would complain for him. Someone had to fight against this unfair situation, and she was proud that it was going to be her.

She was not exactly sure how to get to Hyrule. She had gone with Dorobis to see aunt Olivia once to Barrack, but that was ten years ago and Jennan could not remember the exact way. And besides, once she reached Barrack she had another whole day and half a night to go to get to Hyrule. Well, she would find it some way, and hope that she was not acting overly bold.

Hopefully Olivia did not just take Link and leave regardless that Jennan had her horse. But one's horse was a very important thing, so a person usually did not just take off and leave without it. So Jennan had a ransom, and she was proud of herself for coming up with the idea. Maybe it would hold Olivia at bay in Carrickfergus until she got back.

But of course there was still the chance that Jennan could return home in just the way that she had left, and Link would still be a slave. Could Princess Zelda somehow free Link? Or just as importantly, _would_ she? Maybe she was furious with the both of them and did not care what happened. But since that was unlikely, Jennan was going for it.

Now she had to decide where she was going to sleep for the night. She tied the mare's reins the low tree branch of a pine tree and decided to sleep under the tree where the branches had blocked the snow. She sat down slowly on the pine needles and situated her skirts to where they would almost make a bed for her. It was a bad thing to not have a blanket in this cold. And traveling for eight days or more was something for a man to do, not a young lady. Well, if she was going to be Link's wife one day- wait a minute, did she just say _wife?_ Jumping to conclusions, was she! What had given her the impression that Link would ever propose to her? Just because she wanted it to happen did not mean that it would.

It would be better to stop thinking and go to sleep, so Jennan lay down. She had slept outside before, but not very often and never in the cold. She shivered and curled herself into a ball. This was very unlady-like, but it did not matter at this point. She was on her way to do something important- for she would do anything for Link.

A noise in the darkness startled her, and she sat up quickly. Earlier she had found a dagger in the saddlebag of her aunt's horse, and now she had it tucked away in her dress. If anything moved, she would grab it. But she was not as quick as she had thought, for suddenly something was beside her.

She leapt to her feet, but someone grabbed her wrist. The hand was big and rough, and Jennan heart jumped in fear. She was not doing this just to be dragged down in the woods by a strange man, again! Link had been there to save her last time, but this time she was alone and not so lucky. The horse shied away from the struggle, and Jennan braced herself on the ground and quick as a flash, kicked the figure right where it would hurt him most.

The dark silhouette went down on the snow, hunched over in pain. Now Jennan grabbed the dagger from her dress and was about to call out a warning when the figure spoke in a very deep, familiar voice.

"Jennan, don't," it croaked in pain. Jennan froze, then relaxed and nearly fainted with relief.

"Rhashidi!" She bent down beside him and quickly put away the knife. "Rhashidi, why'd you do that to me?" She put her hands on his arm, for once not bare for he was actually wearing one of Matayo's shirts. He groanded and sat up, his hands between his knees that were pressed tight together. Now Jennan felt awful. Had Rhashidi just told her it was him, this would not have happened.

"I'll be okay," he said through clenched teeth, his strange wolf-ears laid flat back across his thick hair. Jennan sighed. Pit Rhashidi against a huge mountain cat and have him come away victorious, but kick him like that and he'll be down and out.

"Oh Rhashidi, I'm sorry," Jennan said. "I didn't know it was you. You should have said something."

Rhashidi nodded quickly, his hair falling all around his eyes. He struggled to stand up, as if making an attempt to ignore the pain. Jennan felt terrible, and not to mention embarrassed.

"Did Link send you?" she asked, and Rhashidi nodded again. Jennan smiled to herself. Link seemed to always take care of her, even when he was not there.

"He would have come himself," Rhashidi said through gritted teeth, "but Dorobis has a tight hold on him, to make sure he doesn't leave."

"Well, stay close then." Jennan had been very sure of herself when she had first left Carrickfergus, and still was, but she had to admit that she did not want to be left alone. The woods were very dark and ominous, and the trip in itself was dangerous. It was not unusual for someone to be robbed along the trail while traveling, or even kidnapped or killed. She wished that it was Link who was here with her now, but she knew that she had nothing to fear of Rhashidi, for he was her friend and she trusted him. He was unusually strong and a fierce fighter, but he was also very obedient and even timid most of the time. Suddenly Jennan wondered at herself, for she had never even thought about being afraid of Rhashidi before; there had just never been any reason for it. Then again, she had not been alone with him for days, either.

She felt horrible now for kicking him, and again apologized, though he seemed to be for the most part recovered. He waved the thought away and began unbuttoning his shirt, his fingers seemingly stiff from the cold. Jennan herself felt frozen to the bone, and noticed the the sky had opened up again and it was snowing once more. Well, the tree they were under was giving them some shelter at least.

Rhashidi let the shirt drop off him and held it out to her. "You need it more than I do."

Jennan looked at the shirt and blinked slowly. "Rhashidi, I can't just take it. You need it- my dress is enough."

"Link wants me to take care of you," Rhashidi said quietly. "Take it."

Jennan sighed and took it from him slowly. "But nobody wants you to freeze. It's _cold_ out here."

Rhashidi raised his chin and said in a low voice, "I've lived shirtless for the past seventeen years. I can do it again."

Jennan's eyes flashed over to him as she pulled the shirt on and buttoned it up. It was very much too big for her, but it would work. Rhashidi had never told his age before, and Jennan had wondered many times exactly how old he was, for it was quite hard to tell. "So," she said, "I guess you'll be all right then." She yawned deeply and sat down under the tree. Traveling by horseback was more tiring than she had ever thought it was. Poor Link, who had done it for two years straight must have been constantly exhausted. Then again, he had more endurance than she did, and he was a wrangler that pretty much lived in the saddle anyway. Still, she felt sorry for his having to do that.

The next thing Jennan knew, the sun was coming up. She awakened slowly, curled up in the brown pine needles, and shivered. It did not seem to be any warmer than it had during the night, unfortunately. She sat up and tried to brush off some dirt from her dress, and was glad to see that Rhashidi had lot slept too close to her. He was practically on the other side of the thick tree, sitting with his back against the trunk and his knees up, his arms folded over his knees, and his head resting on his arms. He looked much more peaceful when he was asleep.

Jennan stood up and straightened her dress. Her aunt's horse, which was tied up a few feet away, stamped the ground and turned its head to look at her. Jennan knew that she would have to let the horse have a long graze at some point today, or it would eventually grow weak. She went over to Rhashdi and poked his shoulder with a finger. "Rhashidi, I've got to get moving." He grunted as he woke up and lifted his head, his dark hair falling into his eyes, and very soonly they were on their way again, Jennan on horseback and Rhashidi somewhere else. He did not stay right beside the horse; in fact, Jennan never really even saw him while doing the actual traveling, for he somehow just seemed to show up whenever she halted the horse. Jennan wondered how he even kept up, but he did.

She had to keep making sure that she was going in the right direction, but the position of the sun usually kept her on the right path. It was unusual for a girl, but she knew how to use the sun as a compass, and now was quite glad for her studies with her tutor. But if she happened to go the wrong way, Rhashidi would tell her, would he not? He had probably been back and forth from Hyrule many times, and not to mention he had a sense of direction that was probably a part of his strange sixth sense.

Sometime during the early afternoon, after hours and hours of moving forward, Jennan stopped the horse and dismounted stiffly. She dropped down onto the thin covering of snow on the ground and tried to stretch her back and shoulders. She had to admit that Rhashidi's shirt --well, she felt more comfortable saying _Matayo's_ shirt-- had kept her warmer. She just hoped that Rhashidi was not frozen.

As usual when Jennan came to a halt, Rhashidi emerged from the woods. He did not look like he was cold. He just looked like he always did, though the metal collar around his neck was frosted over. He yawned deeply, making his sharp and deadly canine teeth quite visible. Jennan wished that her teeth were as white as his, and he was the one that went around biting people and things. His jaws snapped shut as he slipped his dagger into his belt and ran the back of his free wrist over the blue tattooed markings under his left eye. "Are you hungry?"

Jennan suddenly realized that she was. "I haven't eaten since the masquerade." Before she had left, she had not even thought about what she would eat and drink, so intent on her plan she had been. Rhashidi told her that he would go find something for her, and that it might be good to let the horse graze for awhile. Jennan thought that the mare would run off and said so, but Rhashidi replied that he would make sure it did not.

After he left off into the woods, Jennan sat down on a log that did not have much snow on it and thought that it was very nice of Rhashidi to be doing all of these things for her. No doubt that it was because Link had said so, but it was still generous. Jennan shivered and again wished that it was Link who was here with her- but no offense to Rhashidi. It was just the way it was when you loved someone.

Rhashidi came back soonly after with quite a few fish. He built a fire in a dry spot and even cooked the fish for her.

"How did you get them?" she asked as he stabbed her a cooked fish with a sharp stick. "Isn't the creek frozen?"

"I broke through."

"Well how did you catch them?"

"With my hands," he replied quietly, and looked at her as if it was so obvious that anyone should have known the answer.

"Oh." Jennan blew on the fish meat gently. "Yes, Link's told me before. I guess I forgot."

She fell silent, and Rhashidi picked the bones from his fish and looked at her. "You miss him already?"

"Of course." She looked at the ground. "I just hope that I can return home with good news for him."

Rhashidi practically inhaled the fish and picked up another one. "So," he said quietly, in practically a whisper, "what exactly are you going to do?"

Jennan rolled the stick in her fingers and crinkled her eyebrows. The plan had seemed absolutely brilliant when she had first thought of it so suddenly at the masquerade, but now it seemed very scary. "Well, I'm going to Hyrule, of course. And... I'm going to the princess and requesting Link's freedom. Can she even do that? I mean, she _is_ his princess and all..."

Rhashidi stared at her and ran his tongue over his lower lip. "It depends. Link is actually in your father's possession, or officially your aunt's right now."

Jennan scoffed angrily. "I can't believe it's actually legal to just drag someone down in the woods, and just because you claim them as your slave, they belong to you."

"It wouldn't be if this was part of Princess Zelda's kingdom. But Carrickfergus is just a land with no royal leader, like Akanea and Doluna. So I guess the people rule themselves."

"So if the princess commands that her subject be released from slavery, it wouldn't help any?"

Rhashidi bit his lip and looked away. "It might. I don't know much about rulers and legal things, but it's possible."

Jennan swallowed. So there was still a chance, and if there was a chance at all, she was pushing on. For if Link was put in her aunt's possession, there was no telling what would end up happening to him. At least Dorobis kept him on the plantation. Olivia could send him off and get him killed somehow. But Link was very well capable of taking care of himself, and Jennan knew that she was being paranoid, but it was her strong love that was doing it.

The next few days basically went the same way. Jennan travelled by herself but sometimes talked to Rhashidi when resting. He kept her on track, made sure the horse was all right, hunted for her, and kept a sharp lookout for danger. Jennan was not so pleased when he brought back something furry and dead to eat, and she hated to see him skin it with his dagger, but she knew that it had to be done. She would have to get used to skinning and cooking cute things if she would one day be... She quickly cut off those crazy thoughts of her dream future and tried to concentrate on the matters at hand.

On the fourth night, they had finally reached Hyrule, and she was dirty and exhausted. When they had passed through Barrack, Jennan had gone by her aunt Olivia's house to see if the woman had returned yet, and was relieved to see that she had not. Rhashidi pretty much vanished when she came into the Hyrule streets, so she had to find her way to the castle by herself. She asked people for directions, but some did not speak English. She had learned a few Hylian words from Link over the time that she had known him, but not enough to function properly. The main thing she had really picked up in Hylian was curses- now Link did not curse much, but when something went exceptionally wrong, he'd let one slide, but always in his own language. Jennan only knew that he was cursing by the way that he said the words.

Well, she could not curse at these people. She had to do something that would help her. Some people looked at her strangely as she passed by on her sleek mare, for she was obviously a stranger here, and she was not used to being a stranger. She would stop and ask someone, usually women, "English?" and they would either shake their heads or just look at her apologetically.

She thought it was interesting to see so many other people with the pointed ears, just like Link's. Too bad none of these ears understood English! And if Rhashidi had stayed with her, this probably would not be a problem. She would make sure to scold him for that later, but not entirely seriously.

She soon stopped asking for English, and instead requested Princess Zelda herself. 'Zelda' was obviously a very familiar word, for people would start gesturing as they talked, as if giving directions, but Jennan still did not understand them. Finally, a female voice said, "I speak English. I can help you."

Jennan turned in the saddle and saw a pretty, young girl who was wearing fairly fancy clothing and balancing a large jar on her head. She had brown hair that hung only to her jawline. When she turned to the side, Jennan saw the symbol of Hyrule on the arm of her dress, the same symbol as on Link's shield. "Thank you," Jennan said sincerely, relieved that she was finally getting help.

The girl moved gracefully and with her head held high. For a moment Jennan wondered if this might even be the princess herself, but no, Link had told her that Zelda was blonde. The girl shifted her weight to one hip and looked up at Jennan. She talked with a Hylian accent, which Jennan thought was strange; Link did not have an accent. "I hear that you've requested the princess. Can I ask why?"

Jennan swallowed nervously. "I suppose you could say that it's personal business, miss."

"I see. I can show you to the castle, but there's no promise that you will get inside."

"Thank you, very much."

So Jennan nudged the horse into a walk, and she followed the graceful girl through the streets. Her heart was pounding unusually hard, for she was going to meet royalty face-to-face, and it might be that the princess would be furious when she found out who Jennan was. Jennan could even be facing death, for all she knew, and it unnerved her. But from what Link had told her, the princess was not that kind of person at all, but you never know.

"What is your name?" the girl asked when they were in a spot that not so many other people were. "I need to know something to tell the princess."

Jennan told her. Her hands were sweating on the leather reins, in spite of the cold all around her. It would have made her feel better if Rhashidi was here, but of course he was not. She squeezed her knees against the horse's sides nervously, her silky purple skirts hanging down and covering most of the horse's back and even part of its tail. When this journey was over, it would probably no longer be her best dress.

The massive castle was suddenly in view, and Jennan was in awe. She had never seen a structure so huge, or so powerful-looking. It was dark even against the night sky, which made it look even larger, but some of the windows were lit by firelight. There seemed to be guards everywhere out here in the darkness, but they did not question the stranger, for it seemed that the girl was probably a personal servant of the princess herself.

"Stop here," the girl said, and Jennan halted the horse. "Stay here with the guards, and I will tell Princess Zelda that she has a requested visitor."

The girl disappeared into the darkness, and Jennan felt very alone, even though there were guards right beside her. She figured that Rhashidi was probably close by as well, though right now it felt like he might as well be on the moon. Jennan felt very small, as if royalty and power seeped from the castle itself and drifted off over the subjects of Hyrule. On the way to the castle, Jennan had noticed the symbols of Hyrule on almost everything, and she was sure that they were on the castle as well, they were just not visible in the dark night.

The guards did not speak at all, and Jennan figured that it was against protocol, or whatever it was called here. Jennan was sweating and felt like yelling, 'Rhashidi, get over here' but certainly did not. She looked up at the sky and hoped that it would not be the last time, though she was pretty sure that she would leave the castle in one piece. Link trusted Zelda and Jennan trusted Link, so it was worth a try.

It seemed as if an uncomfortable forever had passed before the servant girl came back. "The princess says that she will see you. But from my advice, do not take too long. Follow me."

Jennan dismounted slowly, and was unsure with what to do with the horse, but a guard came over and took the reins. Jennan nodded at him gratefully and tried to brush off some more dirt from her skirts. She could only wonder what the rest of her looked like, though she had tried to keep her hair tamed and put up as it always was over the past four days. The servant girl led her through the darkness, and suddenly they were inside without Jennan quite knowing how. It was extravagant in there, to say the least, and the ceilings were enormously high and elegant.

Jennan followed close to the girl as they passed through huge rooms and went up spiraling stairs. Jennan's legs still hurt from the four-day ride, and her muscles ached as she lifted her skirts a little and made her way up the stairs after the girl.

"The princess is in high spirits tonight, for once," the girl said. They had been uncomfortably silent until now. "She has been in a state of depression lately."

Jennan did not ask why, because for one thing it was none of her business, and she thought that she had a pretty good idea, and swallowed hard. 'Lately' probably meant right after she had met up with Link again, and Jennan felt almost guilty. Or maybe it was just her nerves.

They finished ascending the stairs, then went up more, and came to a red-carpeted hall that was lit by beautiful torches. Guards lined the walls every few doors, and at the end of the hall were two gorgeous double-doors, the obvious sign of a royal's dwelling. Jennan's knees felt weak, as if they would collapse under her and send her to the ground.

"It's by Princess Zelda's request that we come directly to her dwelling," the servant girl said to the two guards outside the door. "I am on the princess's business, so open the doors for the guest."

Jennan sucked in a deep breath and tried to compose herself, and then the doors swung open.

**-O-**

"So then, it is done."

Prince Marth knelt in front of his father's throne, a letter in his hands bearing the royal mark of Hyrule. "It is. The princess accepts."

The king motioned for his son to stand. "Very well done, Marth. After the war, I thought that you would never find yourself a wife."

Marth swallowed and stood, holding the letter in both hands. "It's for the good of Altea."

"Perhaps. But in the end, it will also be for the good of you. My son, you need this. You must have a queen to sit by your throne when you take my place." The king's eyes shifted to the throne beside him, empty of his queen for years now.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Marth?" Anya asked. She had come to the king earlier, and having the sceptre held out to her, had stood behind his throne to perform every request of his since then. She asked the question with kindness, but it was no secret that she did not like the idea. She had been closest to Marth over the years, and no doubt it would be strange for her when he took a wife. Marth cared for his sister deeply, but he would not stop his betrothal for her comfort.

"It's what I want, and it's already been done. No doubt we will be married by next week."

Marth had to admit to himself --but only to himself-- that he was somewhat nervous. He did not have much experience with girls in a romantic way, for he had just never really been interested, until he saw Zelda. There was just something about her that he liked, but he could not explain what it was. Always before he hated the thought of concubines and just wanted to be left alone, which aroused the suspicions of the subjects that perhaps the prince swings the other way, but it was not like that at all. They would see it when he married the beautiful princess.

"I don't want the whole kingdom at my wedding," Marth demanded. "Witnesses, yes, but no crowds."

"Anything you want, my son."

Anya blinked her sightless eyes slowly. "That will not please the subjects."

"And is that your place to say that, girl?" the king snapped, and Anya shrank back.

"It's all right, Father," Marth said. "I know it won't, Anya, but I'm here to rule them, not please them."

"Well, you see," the king said, "one thing about being is king is learning how to please your subjects. If you do not, they will reject you as king and all Hades could break loose. Learn to please them but still be in control. But if you do not want a crowd at your wedding, you will not have one."

"And I am getting married in the Altean way, with the hands tied over the fire. It should be all right with Princess Zelda."

"_Should_ be," Anya said. Then gently, "Marth, you hardly even know this girl."

"Welcome to the world of royalty," the king snapped again. "Get out of here, girl. And do not come back tonight."

Anya bowed and quickly left, and Marth watched her go over his shoulder. When he was king, he would make sure that Anya was lifted higher than her present position, but right now he had other things to worry about. Like what kind of ring he was going to put on his bride's finger.

"You are excited," the king said suddenly. "I can feel it."

Marth sniffed and tossed his bangs. "Weren't you when you were first married?"

"Not so much. But I grew to love her."

Marth figured that that was what was going to happen to him, more than likely. There was no way that he could love Zelda yet, for just like Anya had said, he barely knew anything about her. He had met her once and had barely even conversed with her. But it was not uncommon for someone to marry without love, especially in royalty. It seemed to matter more for what it would do to the country, and in this case it would end decades of rivalry and bring the two countries together. Of course they would still be known seperately by name, but their power would be as one.

And Marth wanted power almost as much as he wanted Zelda.

**-O-**

**You all didn't tell me if you wanted a sequel or not! I want to write one, but it would be pretty useless if no one wanted to read it. I'm going to end the story where it can be the _end,_ or the first story of two. So you all tell me.**


	16. Chapter 16

**_Viral Mutation:_ I just have to say that your reviews always make me laugh, in a good way of course. You followed the story pretty well and always seemed excited about it, and that makes a writer happy, lol.**

**_Spiritual Stone:_ I'm glad you're loving the story. Like VM, you were also a good, excited reviewer. You were the first to review, and your enthusiasm helped me to keep writing. Much appreciation!**

**_Black Thief Dragon: _Thanks for all the reviews you gave me!**

**_Blue Irish:_ That's great that you want a sequel. Well, I will give you one. Aren't I generous?**

**_Crystal Adept: _Yeah it's done that to me before, said I've reviewed when I hadn't. Oh well, thanks for both (though one never came, but that's okay)**

**_Itxi:_ Well, Link does still love Zelda, let's just say that it might have dulled over time. If you read the sequel to this, you'll see a lot more answers to your questions and confusion. (insert trumpet fanfare here)**

**_Bob teh link h4t0r:_ What an interesting screenname you have. And about your review, yeah well, whatever, but thanks anyway.**

**_Pyntee:_ Hooray that you'll be more than pleased! Hopefully I can make your day... or days.**

**_the unknown unown: _Your last review made me very enthusiastic about writing. That is, if you meant what I think you meant. Haha, one day you might see a book of mine on the shelves, lol**

**_redemption99_: Thanks for reviewing, but if I had known you would have read the story I would have asked you to a long time ago LOL**

**If I forgot anybody else, sorry, but thanks for your reviews too! Here we go now, and this is the last chapter, by the way...**

**-O-**

Link had been having a bad time that week, to say the least. It was all he could do to avoid Olivia and Dorobis while still doing his usual work, for he could not just stand around idle, and it was beginning to drive him crazy. It was as if they were vultures, trying to eat him before he was even dead. Well, he would only be dead if he had to end up going off with Olivia and in her possession. He did not want to get violent with a woman, but she ignored his words. He had told her that he was entirely unwilling to go with her, and now he was still debating on what to do.

Everyone was confused at what Jennan was actually doing, including Link. She had left off in such a rush that it must be very urgent. It was obvious that it had to do with Link, but what exactly she was doing was still a mystery. If she was trying to free him, he had no idea where she was going to try to get it done.

Maybe to Zelda? Link knew Jennan well enough to know how she thought, and it seemed like something she would do. Link was unsure if Zelda could help or not, or if Jennan was even going there, but she had already been gone for four days, which meant that she would be at Hyrule by now. Unless she got lost. No, not with Rhashidi there. Rhashidi did not get lost, especially when he knew where he was headed.

Every time Link came in eyesight of Dorobis, the man threatened pain, even when silent. He at least glared hatefully, but Link tried his best to ignore him. The man was still walking around with a heavy bruise on his jaw where Link had gladly smashed him four days ago at the masquerade, and Link would willingly do it again if the man pushed him too far. He just wanted to be left alone until Jennan got back, for as far as things were now, there was nothing written in stone. Since Jennan had wisely taken off with Olivia's horse, the woman refused to leave without her prized mare. And Link thought Jennan was a genius for it, for it bought him more time.

Link was entirely unsure at his future, in any situation. If Jennan came back just the way she had left, and he was doomed for a fate with Olivia, he did not know what he was going to do. Certainly not just accept it; that went against his entire nature. If he did not want to go, he did not plan on it. But what if Jennan came back and said that he did not _have_ to go with Olivia, for whatever reason? Then he would still be stuck with Dorobis... and as much as he did not want that, it would be worth it if he could still be around Jennan.

Not to say that he had not considered eloping with her. He did not want to take her off against her father's wishes and marry her anyway, he wanted it to be approved, but if that was what it took, then he might just go for it. If Dorobis was going to cause so much stress over the situation, it would be better to just get away from it all. It would be very nice to just plan a wedding for sometime in the future, like a normal person would, but as usual, Link did not feel normal. It seemed he had been an outcast his whole life.

Everyone else was backing Link up, even the slaves. Ima, Artos, and even Ness spoke up for him. They would have never spoken to Dorobis this way if they had been going about it alone, for Link had already stood up for himself alone, but together there was much less chance of being punished. Matayo and Memnet also stood against their father, because Jennan was their sister and Link their friend.

Link thought back to when he was first familiarizing himself with them, and it felt strange, as if it had happened a lifetime ago. And to think that at one time he had not been in love with Jennan! How strange that was, for it seemed as if that was an eternity ago as well. And what seemed very close but also very far away was when he had defeated Ganon a few years ago and saved Hyrule. He had been the hero then, again, but it was especially Zelda who commended him for it, for she was the only one who had loved him them, aside from his grandmother and sister.

He was very thankful for his friends and for Jennan, for without them something terrible would have happened a long time ago. If it was not for them, he would have escaped months ago, and if pursued, there would have a been death- either his or Dorobis'. But he could not kill the father of the girl he loved, it was just wrong.

Today Link was unlucky enough to be cornered by Dorobis, who was obviously in a raging mood and glad to take it out on the Hylian boy. They happened to meet around the corner of the stable, and Dorobis was practically boiling. "It's _your_ fault that Jennan is off somewhere probably going to get herself killed," the man growled. His fingers touched the horse whip that hung in his belt, and Link's eyes traveled there warily.

"According to you, Dorobis, everything is my fault," Link said.

"How _dare_ you talk to me like that!" Dorobis exclaimed. He raised a fist, and Link held up a hand.

"Don't even think about it. Which way do you want me to knock you out today?"

It was not like Link to taunt, but he was tired and stressed and worried, and certainly not in the mood for being hassled. So far it seemed to a never-ending saga that Link was quite ready to close.

"You dare not touch me."

"Why not?" Link stiffened, and his hands formed into fists. "I'm not under your control, Dorobis, and I never was. You know it."

Dorobis laughed. "Oh then, who was that _under my control_ back in the forest, tied and beaten? And who was that shackled and whipped between my trees? I believe that was you, boy. And you were entirely unwilling."

Link stared at him and said tartly, "Don't you know that I could have killed you months ago? Do you know how many chances I've had? But I haven't done it, because I'm not as bad as you think I am."

"Of course. You are worse than I ever thought."

Link threw up his hands. "How is loving your daughter a bad thing?"

"Your idea of love is obviously a lot different from mine," Dorobis snapped.

Link had been sorry for his mistakes for awhile now and wanted to say so, but he was not about to lower himself that far in front of this man. Saying 'I'm sorry' brought too much weakness, and the weak were always taken advantage of. "All right," Link began, and glanced around and noticed that unfortunately the two of them were completely alone, an ominous preliminary to a brawl. "Maybe all this wouldn't be so bad if you didn't hate me so much. Is there a reason? Because you know that you hated me long before I loved Jennan."

Dorobis' mouth went tight, and Link knew that he had verbally caught him. But Dorobis said, "Yes, I did hate you then. And it never stopped. In fact, the only thing you did was intensify it."

Link lifted his chin and shook his head. "You don't know me," he said slowly, with a new boldness.

"I know enough. You are a murderer and a whoremonger."

"Jennan loves me and you can't stand it."

Dorobis narrowed his eyes in anger, and suddenly pulled the whip from his belt. Link wanted to back away or fight, but let himself do neither, or at least not yet. There was no way he was going to take a whipping, not now. He was too close to getting things right for himself, and the only thing Dorobis was asking for was a fight, and the outcome of that would be unpredictable. Dorobis was a grown man and not exactly small in size. But Link had taken on much more threatening and been victorious, or at least alive, and though he did not want to, he knew that he could do it again if pressured to get violent.

"Dorobis," he said icily, "when are you going to learn to back off me?"

"Perhaps when you are dead," the man replied, matching Link's tone. "My sister knows you are dangerous and is thinking of changing her mind about taking you." He snapped the whip between his hands, as if for emphasis for what he wanted to do with it.

Link kept his eyes on the whip now, ready to defend himself if he had to. He was quickly tiring of the arguement. "Do you actually think I'd go with her?"

Dorobis snapped, "What, do you wish to stay here for the rest of your life?"

Link did not answer at first. No, he did not want to stay here forever. He wanted to marry Jennan and take her to live somewhere else, but of course he could not tell Dorobis that, especially not right now. And nothing was going to change by just standing here arguing with Dorobis, so he held up a hand to dismiss the arguement and turned to walk away. It reminded him of being a small child and his grandmother telling him that when confronted or bullied to just walk away, but he had always returned home bleeding or bruised anyway. It had never worked for him, and it was no exception even now.

Dorobis reached out and seized Link's arm roughly, and Link felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He honestly did now want to fight, especially not Dorobis, but there did not look like there was going to be a way to avoid it. He stopped and turned back around to give the man a warning glare, and when that did not work, slapped the grasping hand away with a fierce meaning. But Dorobis just stepped forward and shoved Link's shoulder back with one hand. Link had no choice but to take a few steps backwards to keep his balance, and he was starting to get highly irritated. He had put up with enough of this in his childhood, and he did not need it now, especially from a grown man.

Link was hard put to stand his ground, for Dorobis came forward again and gave another shove. The desire to fight was easy to see in the man's eyes, but Link did not know how that was possible. Did Dorobis not know that Link was now known for fighting, and fighting well? What a foolish man. Well, Dorobis probably looked at it as if he were going to fight a kid, and though Link was young, he had the body and strength of a man and knew how to use it when times called for it.

"Dorobis," Link finally said warningly, "you _don't _want to start shoving me around."

"You're right, I do not. I want to do something _else_." Dorobis' fist met Link's stomach hard on the last word. Link felt the breath go out of him and as he doubled over and wondered how he had not been fast to avoid that punch, for his reflexes had never failed him before. But his stomach was naturally tight and he recovered quickly. He knew that Dorobis wanted him to fight back, so that was why he would refuse for as long as he could. It actually was possible to defend himself without fighting back.

But Dorobis was obviously not finished. He took another swing with his other fist, but Link was prepared this time and caught the man's hand in his own. He had had lots of practice on this move through the years that he started putting up an effort to defend himself from bullies, and he was quite good at it now. He tightened the muscles in his hand and snapped Dorobis' wrist back; not quite hard enough to break it, but certainly with enough force to cause a sprain. The man let out a hissing growl and grabbed his wrist with his free hand in pain.

Link allowed himself to give one more warning, though he was fighting the urge to smash in the man's face. "Look, I'm really gonna hurt you if you don't back off, old man."

Dorobis sucked in a breath as he said, "You only wish you could, _boy_."

And suddenly they were on the ground, and there was blood on the snow. Link was not quite sure how they had got down there, but here they were, and there was no time to wonder. Dorobis was on his knees and throwing punches, and Link had to move fast to protect himself. He threw his arms up over his face in the shape of an _X_, and he felt Dorobis' fist pounding onto his arm guards, and he brought up a knee hard into the man's chest, and he braced himself and threw him off. Link quickly went up to his knees, and though he knew he really should not, straddled Dorobis and swung various hook-punches into the man's already bruised jaw. He was nearly blind with anger and could feel the blood on his fist, and he fought an inner battle to keep himself from being overcome by rage. If he let himself get out of control, there was no telling what the outcome might be.

So he stopped after three hits and stood up. But Dorobis was tougher than he had thought, for he was suddenly up on his feet again, and the fight was on again. Link let himself forget everything else and concentrated on dodging, blocking, and throwing his own attacks. He was much more agile than Dorobis, and he had the strength of youth on his side, but the other man fought well enough. Link did not feel the pain as it came upon him, he only saw stars or suddenly found himself on the ground, but he was sure that Dorobis felt it. Link new that the best place to hit in a fist-fight was the face, and that was where he tried to keep his hits aimed, though it was difficult when his opponent was punching back.

But he finally just let himself loose and no wonder worried about the safety of Dorobis. He showed the man what he could really do and what he was capable of, and it was beginning to be obvious that the end of this would not be good if the two of them were left to finish it themselves. But suddenly Link was pushed to the ground, though it was not very hard. He forced himself to focus and saw that it was Matayo who had thankfully intervened, and the young man grabbed his father by the belt and literally dragged him back from Link.

"All right, stop it," Matayo commanded. He forced his father to sit down in the snow and overlooked him. "Father, you're barely even awake anymore. What is _wrong_ with you?"

Dorobis tried to shove his son away. "Stay out of this."

Matayo ignored that. "Father, if you do not get off of him," he said, his eyes shifting over to Link, "then there will be nothing left of you for Ima to mend. Now stop this before one of you really gets hurt."

When Link's vision cleared, he looked at Dorobis and wondered too how the man was still conscious. Blood nearly covered his face and ran down into his beard, his lips were split, his eye black, his face cut, and somehow he was still looking at Link as if he wanted to strangle him. Link felt dizzy enough and knew that he was not near as beat-up as Dorobis was.

"Go mind your business, Matayo," Dorobis commanded, and tried to get up, but Matayo again stopped him.

"I think it's my business to stop my father from getting his brains kicked out, yes?"

"I told you to go away." Dorobis glared at Link through the blood. "I'm going to kill him."

Matayo sighed heavily. If he could not get his father to move, then he would just get Link out of here so the two of them could not fight anymore, at least for now. He took Link's arm and helped him up. "Let's stop this, Link," he said flatly. "Come on."

Matayo escorted him across the yard and to the house, but they stopped at the porch and Link sat down on the steps. He did not want to go inside and have everyone make over him as if he could not take care of himself. He touched the back of his wrist to his mouth and saw blood when he pulled it away, but was not sure where it was coming from. Matayo went around the side of the house and returned with a bucket of water, then sat down silently beside Link. They were both quiet as Link washed his face and the water turned a dull red, and then finally Matayo spoke.

"If Father wants to sit out there in the snow, let him just fight himself." It was supposed to be a jest, but Link just looked at him without so much as a smile. The blows he had taken had made him light-headed, and even though he just wanted to lay down and sleep, he refused to let himself. He was tougher than that. Besides, he had to keep up his appearance if he wanted to ever intimidate Dorobis.

Matayo sighed. "I guess I don't have to ask what you two were fighting about. I know you hate each other."

"Or he hates me, at least."

Matayo looked at him apologetically. "You know, I'm really sorry that he treats you that way. He's just trying to make things hard for you. If I had anything to say about it, I'd stop him."

For some reason, Link felt himself bristle. Though his friend was trying to be helpful, he felt almost offended, maybe even a small flare of pride that told him that he did not need someone else to stand up for him.

And he was missing Jennan, and could not wait until she got back.

**-O-**

The two huge doors of the dwelling opened inwardly, and Jennan felt weak. She felt the warmth of the lantern on her face and a draft of air coming through a small window in the stone wall. She must go in, for Link. But she felt paralyzed. The servant girl was behind her telling her to go inside, and Jennan picked her skirts up slowly and made her way. It felt like everything was in a strange slow motion, and she heard the two doors slam shut behind her.

The room was fairly dark but lit with moonlight from a window and torches on the walls. Everything in here was so extravagant and beautiful that she could think of no words to describe it all, and it took her breath away. But that was only the beginning of it, for suddenly she remembered who she was here to see, and saw the princess standing by the bed.

Zelda turned ever so slightly when Jennan entered, quite daintily but very sure of herself, her chin lifted high and her long blonde hair spilling over her shoulders. She held a long, thin piece of satin held up against her, as if measuring it for her size, but she was not moving now. The two of them stood looking at each other, then Jennan dropped herself into a slow curtsy that nearly touched her knees to the floor.

"Highness," Jennan breathed. She was unsure at what else to say.

The princess's eyes slowly took Jennan in, and she let the satiny strip float down to the ground around her feet. "My servant said you wished to see me. But first please tell me who you are."

A princess was saying _please?_ Jennan bowed her head a little. "My name is Jennan." She felt ashamed of herself, for her dress, though it was her best and most expensive, was dirty and even torn in some places from travelling on horseback and sleeping on the ground for the past four nights. She wished that she had brought another one, but she had been in so much of a hurry that there had been no time to even kiss Link good-bye, no less pack for the trip.

Zelda repeated the name silently on her lips, and Jennan swallowed hard. Now she could see why Link had loved this girl so much. Not only was she very beautiful, but she had an air about her that was friendly and pure. How in the world had Jennan been lucky enough to end up with Link when this girl did not? It would forever remain a mystery to Jennan, but a mystery she was content with.

But she soon discovered that Zelda still did not know who she was. "And where have you come from?"

"From Carrickfergus, highness. I was on the road for four days."

"That's a long trip for a girl to take by herself."

"I was not by myself, highness. I had... a friend with me." Jennan did not know how exactly how to talk to a princess, but she figured that she was doing good enough so far. She was fairly sure that the princess would not behead her or anything- or at least not yet.

"May I ask why you have come here?"

Jennan's mouth went dry, and she had to swallow various times before she could talk. It felt as if her tongue were thick and heavy. How to explain it? "I have come from Carrickfergus because... because... well, you see... oh, highness, I do not know how to explain it! Forgive me."

Zelda smiled slightly. "It's alright. Just tell me as best you can."

Jennan curtsied again thankfully. She took a very deep breath, and explained it as best she knew how. "I am here for someone you know, princess, I am here for Link, because he was made a slave to my father months and months ago, and my father is cruel to him and now he wants to sell him off to my aunt to get rid of him, and there's no telling what will end up happening to him because my aunt is nearly as unfair as my father, and Link does not want to leave m... does not want to leave, and he just wants to be free like he was before, and I want it for him and there's nothing I can do about it because my father will not listen to me." She sucked in another breath. "Oh, highness, if it pleases you at all, I request that maybe, _maybe_ you can do something to override my father. I just want Link to be free, highness."

Princess Zelda's face had gone blank during the explanation, and her mouth was open ever so slightly, and Jennan cringed. But the princess did not look angry or as if she were devising a death plan. Instead she looked almost sad. "Ye gods," she whispered, and Jennan held her breath nervously. "You are here for Link? By the gods... you are... you are the girl that has captured Link's heart. You are the one he loves, are you not?"

Nearly frozen, Jennan could do nothing but nod quickly. She certainly did not want to anger the princess, or seem as if she was rubbing in her good fortune, so she tried to appear humble. Well, not appear; she felt very humble, and even afraid.

She could see Zelda swallow, and her fists tighten. "And you love him?"

Jennan was starting to sweat. "Very much."

The princess closed her eyes and leaned her shoulder on the bedpost beside her, a long and quiet breath running out of her. "I understand why, now."

"Highness?" Jennan asked shakily.

"You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. And you are afraid; I can see it. But you are coming here for Link, because you love him. I can see that as well."

Jennan wanted to faint out of the uncertainty of what was going to happen next, but she choked out, "Yes."

"It proves your love, dear." Zelda reached out a hand. "Come here."

Jenna went stiffly. She could feel her hands shaking. Here she had been marvelling at the princess, and Zelda was doing the same thing in return. If someone else had been watching the conversation, it would have shown that Link had good taste.

"You are obviously very brave," Zelda said, and touched Jennan's shoulder. "And very much in love. Don't ever let Link go; he's far too valuable." Her hand dropped away and she turned to the window. "I myself am preparing for my wedding next week. I am being wed to the young Prince of Altea, mostly to bring an alliance to our two countries, for they have been at war for decades, you know. So I am quite uncertain now."

Jennan did not know why the princess was telling these personal things to her, but she managed to nod. "Good for you. But I'm sorry that you are uncertain."

"I've only met him once."

Jennan swallowed again, and tried to offer some help. "I have heard that he's very handsome. And skilled with the sword."

"Yes, he is both." Zelda was gloveless, and something on the back of her left hand caught Jennan's eye. The familiar mark of the Triforce.

Jennan was wondering when the princess would get back around to the reason of Jennan's being here, but she would not dare ask. And she did not have to.

"So since I am getting married to the prince," Zelda continued at last, "it will form our countries as one and unite our power. You see, I would do anything for Link, anything to help him. But I am not sure if I could do it if I was just Hyrule alone, but since soonly I will be Altea as well, it is possible that I will have enough power to do it. So, my dear, I can sign something under my name that demands Link's freedom forever, and your father will have no choice to obey. That is, unless he doesn't mind battling the armies of two powerful contries."

Jennan could almost not believe what she had just heard. The princess was going to help them! Sure, there was still a chance that it would not work, but it more than likely would. Jennan wanted to hug Zelda, but did not dare. In some places it meant death to touch royalty, and though she was overjoyed, she did not risk it. "Thank you, highness!" she said, every word sincere, her joy easy to see. And then something very unusual happened.

Zelda opened her arms to Jennan for a hug.

**-O-**

And so the next week Princess Zelda took her father the king and a dozen servants off to Altea, to be married to Prince Marth and unite Hyrule and Altea for hopefully all time. They had the best hospitality when they arrived, for everyone knew they were looking at their future queen, and Zelda and her father were put into the part of the huge castle that housed guests, and Zelda had the last stitchings put into her wedding dress.

Zelda and Marth did not see each other at all until the night arrived. The ceremony was going to be held just inside the protective walls of the castle, and a marriage bonfire was lit in the corner, with an Altean priest there to perform the required customs. The witnesses consisted of the two kings of the countries, Marth's sister and advisor, many servants, including Zelda's, and only a few civilians that had been authorized to come. Marth was dressed in the same style of clothes he always wore, complete with the royal cloak, but the colors were light and white instead of dark and blue. It had been saved for years, specifically for this night.

The bride, of course, was the most anticipated person to see. Marth and the priest were already standing by the fire in front of all the witness, but it was not quite time for the Hylian king to bring his daughter to them. Marth could feel that he was sweating, and he was surprised at himself, for he not thought that he would be this nervous. He was far more scared now than he had been even on the battlefield. Somehow this seemed to be much more important.

He did not look at the priest, or at the crowd that was seated or standing around the procession; he just kept his eyes on the spot where Zelda and her father would emerge from the shadows into the torchlight. It felt like the collar of his white cloak was choking him, though it was just as loose as it always was, and he resisted the urge to loosen it more. He could feel the sweat under his bangs at the hairline but kept his hands clasped in front of him and his back straight, a customary stance for a man awaiting his bride. He was still stunned that the princess had even accepted his proposal, but she had for whatever reason. Perhaps she found him interesting, or she just wanted to unite their countries. Well, for Marth, it was both.

And suddenly there she was in the firelight, with her hand around her father's bent arm. All the wedding guests turned to look at her, and Marth held his breath. Zelda looked beautiful in her long white dress, and the elegant gold crown on her head shined and the jewels sparkled. Her head was titled back with the pride of a princess, and she was not smiling, but she was did not look reluctant, either. Her father's free hand reached over and pressed over hers, a sign that he was perhaps comforting her.

The small crowd bowed when they slowly passed by, but Zelda did not acknowledge them. She looked at Marth with no expression, and he suddenly hated not being able to tell what she was thinking. Well, he hardly even knew her, but it was very common for people to marry without love, especially in royalty. He did not love her, though he did like her well enough and she was very beautiful.

Marth reached out his hand to her when she got close enough, and she took it. Her father let go of her and Marth gave him a small bow, for after all, he was a king, and Zelda took her place beside Marth. The crowd got quiet, and the priest began the customary sayings. In the way of the Altean wedding ceremony, the two that were being married never even said anything, for that was the work of the priest to say it for them. As he was saying what he was required, Marth studied Zelda's hands. She wore white gloves that went all the way to her upper arm, and as he had noticed at the banquet of the peace talks, her fingers were thin and long, very pretty. He looked up at her face, and her deep blue eyes met his. He saw her swallow, and her eyes shifted over to her father in the crowd, then back to Marth.

At last, the priest called for the ringbearer, and Marth was surprised to see that it was Anya who came at the summon. She was smiling, as if she could see him though her blind eyes, and she held out the crystal box that held the rings in her hands. It was customary for the bride to put to ring on her man first, so at the word of the priest, Zelda reached into the box with her forefinger and thumb and lifted out Marth's gold ring. It caught a flash of light and shined; both of their bands were made just for them and fashioned from only the best gold. Marth held out out his left hand with fingers spread but relaxed, and Zelda took his wrist with her free hand and slipped the band onto his ring finger. It felt strange there, but there was not time to dwell on it. He took the bride's ring from the box, making sure to touch Anya's hand to try to communicate with her to tell her that he was not going to be any different once he was married than he was before, and took Zelda's small hand. She watched as he slipped on the diamond ring, right over her glove, and she examined it carefully, almost as if she was making sure it was good enough for her.

The most official part of the marriage, what made it all set in stone, came next. In other countries, this would be the time where the man and woman kissed, but Zelda placed her hand over the back of Marth's, and the priest laid a thin royal cloth over the both of their hands, slowly looped it around underneath, then brought it back to the top and tied it carefully. The priest then took a small bowl of holy water and raised it up, blessed the marriage in another language, and slowly poured out the water over their hands. The red cloth soaked through and turned dark, and when the priest removed it, the crowd stood and cheered.

Altea and Hyrule were united as one, the decades of bitter rivalry were ended, and Prince Marth and Princess Zelda were offically married.

**-O-**

On the eighth day, Link went about his work as usual but kept an eye out for Jennan. If she had really gone to Hyrule, which none of them were even sure about, then she should be back by now, unless she had gotten off track somewhere. But with Rhashidi with her, that was unlikely. Link found himself almost worrying, which was unusual for him, for he was thinking paranoid thoughts. What if something had happened to Rhashidi and Jennan was alone, or hurt? He worried for the both of them, but honestly mostly for Jennan. He did not know what he would do if something bad had happened to her. But as long as Rhashidi was with her, the chances of that were terribly slim.

Artos could somehow sense the worry, for once out of the blue he told Link that Jennan would be back soon. "We do not even know where she has gone," he said. "She could still be on her way there, for all we know."

But Link did not know where else Jennan would have gone. The farthest she could probably get was Hyrule, for Rhashidi had never gone more far east. Unelss she found the way herself somehow.

Olivia had been angry the whole time, ranting that her niece had taken her horse, and would not leave without it, even though Dorobis suggested that she borrow a horse of his. Link thought that it had been a very smart move on Jenann's part, and he was impressed, for he did not know if he would have thought of it himself. Jennan obviously knew her aunt just well enough to know that the woman would stay in Carrickfergus if she did not have her horse, and thus Link would stay as well and would still be there when Jennan got back.

It was no secret that Olivia was very wary of Link, especially after the most recent fight he and Dorobis had had. "Do you think I really want to deal with that myself?" she had snapped at her brother, and Link had not been able to help but smirk to himself. Sometimes violence paid off, and in this case he was lucky. Now Dorobis even stayed away from him, and hated him at a distance instead of trying it physically.

And on the last day, Jennan was suddenly there just as quickly as she had left eight days ago. She rode in on Olivia's horse like a professional, and Rhashidi arrived close behind. Jennan spotted Link by the stables and reined the horse in, and quickly dismounted before even coming to a complete stop, and left the horse standing there by itself. She still wore her masquerade dress, which was somewhat dirty now, and she looked tired. But her fatigue was obviously overriden, for she was smiling broadly, strings of her black hair in her face, and she held a papyrus scroll in her hand. Link was so glad to see her that they literally ran to meet each other, and Jennan launched herself upon him and hooked her arms around his neck. He crushed her to him with joy and discovered that she was laughing quite wildly. She was hanging there with no contact to the ground, for he held her up easily, and she laid her hand on his face and kissed his lips hard.

"I did it," she laughed, after she pulled back.

Link let her sink gently to the ground, but their arms remained around each other. "What did you do?"

She smiled excitedly and waved the scroll. "This! Signed by the princess Zelda herself."

He let go of her long enough to take the scroll and unroll it. Sure enough, it held the print of Zelda's royal ring and her written signature, but the main thing that caught his eye was what the rest of the writing said. Written first in English and then in Hylian --dear Zelda, she knew he had not yet learned to read English-- was a royal demand for his release from slavery, meant for Dorobis, Olivia, and whoever else might ever think about trying to own him. Link was stunned.

"Link, will it work? Will Father have to obey the command?" Jennan asked quickly.

Link felt a smile forming on his lips, and there was no way to stop it. He broke out in a wide smile. "It'll work, Jen." He nodded, his hair falling into his eyes. "It'll work."

Jennan let out a quick whooping holler and hugged him again. Memnet and Matayo appeared and greeted Jennan with relief, then wanted to know where she had gone and what had happened. Upon being shown and reading the scroll, they too joined in the small celebration. Link knew that all of their relief and gladness was sincere, and it touched him deeply to have friends that cared about him that much. When he had first met them, he had never imagined that they would one day become this close.

Ness, Ima, and Artos had obviously heard the commotion and were suddenly there as well. "Link's free," Matayo informed them excitedly. "By the command of his princess, he's not in Father's possession anymore."

"But does Father have to obey a princess in another country?" Memnet asked doubtfully.

"If he doesn't want a war with two powerful countries," Jennan said. She suddenly felt bad, and turned to Link and said softly, "Zelda has married the prince of Altea. She asked me to tell you."

Link blinked hard, but said nothing but, "Who wants to show Dorobis the scroll?"

Jennan was unsure how hard the news of Zelda's marriage had hit Link, but now was not the time to ask about it. She could not wait to tell her father what had gone on while she was away. "I'll do it. He should hear it from me." No one objected, and Jennan took Link's hand and led the way to the house where Dorobis and Olivia had settled themselves that afternoon, everyone else following. She threw open the door and looked hard at her father's bruised face, who sat stunned at the table. With a flick of her wrist, the scroll unwound and was open in front of Dorobis. Jennan said, "I have been to Hyrule, and it wasn't all for nothing like I know you thought it was. This here is a printed and signed command from Princess Zelda, demanding Link's freedom from slavery. Father, if you want to read it yourself..."

Dorobis snatched the scroll and began reading slowly, his expression a mix of surprise and fury. When he was finished, he slammed the scroll flat down on the table and glared up at Link. "Your princess has a lot of nerve, boy."

"Just admit that there is nothing you can do about it," Jennan said gently. "Hyrule and Altea are one now, by royal marriage, and unless you want an all-out war with that combined army... I think it would be a good idea to just let Link go free, by your word. Because you have no choice now, and you might as well go down without fighting."

Dorobis was clearly frustrated, and his face turned red behind the bruises. It was obvious that he wanted to burst out yelling, but he was defeated and knew it. Jennan looked at him almost with a begging expression, to try to convince him to just drop everything now without making things worse. She knew of her father's pride and temper, and hoped that it would not flare up now. His jaw got tight and he let the scroll roll up on itself and handed it back to Jennan. "Then just get out."

Jennan silently thanked him, and left out the front door, still hand-in-hand with Link, and stopped out on the front porch. The door swung shut behind them, and they were alone. Jennan looked up at him, her hands now around his wrists, and let herself smile. "I don't even know what to do now. I've wanted you to be free for so long, it doesn't even seem real now."

Link knew what she meant, for he felt the same way. "Jen, I remember your promise."

"My promise?" She looked confused at first, then obviously remembered as well. "Oh... yes, that was one of the reasons I went to Hyrule. But mainly I did it because I love you."

She blushed, and he kissed her. He still had a strange problem with words, so he said plainly, "I love you too, Jen."

They stood on the porch, holding each other, both uncertain at their futures, unsure at what was going to happen in the next days or even hours, but though neither of them spoke, it was somehow decided that whatever happened, it would happen to them together. They would more than likely face more hard times no matter what, but they no doubt wanted to face it with the other by their side.

Jennan pressed her face against Link's neck and sighed, content at least for now. "I don't know what we're going to do now," she said, and his arms tightened around her, "but I really do want to stay with you. You're a free man now, and I know that you could have been free before, but it was better to do it this way, it was much safer." She laughed a little and kissed his jaw. "I had to do a lot of fighting for you, Link."

He laid his head against hers. "I know. I'm glad you did."

"But you fought for me too, in more than one way. Remember, you've saved my life. Rhashidi took care of me on the journey, because you told him to." She closed her eyes and felt such a strong wave of emotion for Link that she felt as if she could faint, but she just hugged him tighter and sighed. "Link," she whispered, "I really do love you; I always will, and I want to stay with you. Always... whether you're bond, or whether you're free."

**-O-**

**So, it's finally finished. Dorky ending, I know. I'm sure this story was pretty crazy sometimes, and probably not always accurate, but I did the best I could, and I enjoyed writing it. Hopefully it was as good as you all say it was. I want to point out a couple of things here. I realize now that I may have waited too long to actually bring Zelda into the story, but the story has a mind of its own, I tell you. Anyway, I had it planned to have Marth and Zelda get married for a looong time, but it just took forever for it to actually be able to happen. One thing in particular that I think some of you might find interesting is, Link's dream that he had in chapter 9 about Zelda was actually a real ream that I had had myself, months before I had even _started_ writing this story. So everything that happened in Link's dream/flashback really happened in my dream, including his trying to drown himself (if you were wondering, that's how I got the idea for that... kinda out of character for him, I know, but it fit into the story). Creepy, yeah I know. So I will give you all a sequel, or give it to myself cuz it's so much fun to write, and thanks again for all the reviews!!**


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